The Dominion of Melchizedek (DoM) is a micronation known for facilitating large scale banking fraud in many parts of the world during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Origin and status
The Dominion of Melchizedek was unilaterally declared in 1990 by U.S. citizen Mark Pedley, possibly with his father, David Pedley. Mark Pedley also uses a number of pseudonyms, including "Tzemach Ben David Netzer Korem" and "Branch Vinedresser". It borrows its name from the biblical king and priest Melchizedek.
When created, the DoM first laid claim to the Colombian island of Malpelo, a small island 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Colombia. Later, it invented the Karitane Shoal in the South Pacific, which is supposedly completely submerged for part of the day; Clipperton Island, an overseas possession of France which lies 1,500 miles west of Nicaragua; and Taongi, otherwise known as Bokak Atoll, an uninhabited Micronesian atoll falling under the administration of the Government of the Marshall Islands. Representatives of the DoM were banned from entering the island of Rotuma after their involvement with dissident groups seeking to secede from Fiji, with whom they had signed agreements to lease land on the islands of Rotuma and its neighbour Solkope. It also claims the portion of Antarctica unclaimed by sovereign states, from 90 degrees to 150 degrees west, known as Marie Byrd Land.
It has been described as "non-existent" by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and as a "non-recognised sovereignty" by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It appears on an EU list of fantasy passports issued by private individuals or organisations. Media reports have described it as a "virtual country", as a "ruse", and as a "phony country".
Marshall Islands statement
In response to one of DoM's territorial claims, the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands issued the following statement:
Claims of recognition
On the DoM's official website, they claim a number of nations have recognized their sovereignty, with links to supporting documents. Upon closer examination, a number of these are merely correspondence acknowledging various requests made of these established states, or appear to be responses to offers of financial support. Of the entire list, only one appears to be actual verifiable recognition: from the Central African Republic. According to The Washington Post, the Central African Republic extended diplomatic recognition to the DoM in 1993, but the Post article went on to remark, "you get the feeling that the Central African Republic would recognize the State of Denial if it had a letterhead." An article in the Quatloos!, online anti-fraud site, noted that "Melchizedek has apparently obtained some sort of recognition from some smaller states ... all of which are notable for their corruption. Claims that the DoM has received recognition from any major government are purely lies."
Frauds linked to the Dominion of Melchizedek
Soon after its inception, the DoM started selling documents purporting to charter or licence companies. By the end of the 1990s, the DoM claimed that some 300 banking licenses had been sold. DoM apologists have suggested that there is no link between Melchizedek and the illegal activities conducted by "banks" it has "licensed"; however, John Shockey, a former special assistant in the office of the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, has stated: Melchizedek first came to my attention in June 1990, a few months after Mark Pedley was paroled from a 1986 conviction. Inquiries were received concerning bank names: Banco de Asia, Guardian Savings & Guaranty and Express Bank among others. Investigations that these entities had bank charters from the DOM and obtained through an entity named Consortium Finance Corporation headquartered in Lake Tahoe, California. Further investigation disclosed a principal alternately named John Hayden and Branch Vinedresser. Shortly thereafter the FBI took Branch Vinedresser into custody and revealed that he was Mark Pedley, who then was charged with violations of his parole. In the same address Stockey also stated that: "The Dominion of Melchizedek is a fraud, a major fraud, and not a legitimate sovereign entity. Persons associated with the Dominion of Melchizedek have been indicted and convicted of a variety of crimes."
In 1991, in Washington, D.C, shell banks that were subsidiaries of a Melchizedekian company tried to secure loans from real banks based on fake DoM securities, but were closed down before they succeeded. One of the men involved, Steve Peterson, later pleaded guilty to fraud and theft charges in another case in Arizona after using a company chartered in DoM.
