# Fleeing the United States **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327 "2026-09-23T22:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/1 "2026-09-23T22:43:51Z")
[Here](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/ex-connecticut-official-flees-greece-045947574.html) is the story of Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, an official in Connecticut who recently fled the United States to Greece. The story of how he did it needs explanation for me. 1. He drove to Florida. 2. He took a boat (legally?) to Bermuda. 3. He flew to London. 4. I suppose he took the train to Athens. So I suppose the idea was to not exit the US with your passport. I suppose they have a bad-boy list and would arrest you if you tried a more straightforward escape Am I right on this point. He took a boat to Bermuda. Perhaps he had to bribe someone for this leg with no formalities. He must show his documents to enter and exit Bermuda. But it is possible the local authorities do not have that same list US officials have? He had to show his papers to enter and leave both the UK and the Schengen Area, but the same might apply. Then what? Greece refuses to ship back Americans upon request? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/2 "2026-09-23T22:44:57Z")
He’s a dual citizen of the United States and Greece. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/3 "2026-09-23T22:48:27Z")
Well, that is important as Greece does not extradite its own citizens. But why didn’t he just use his Greek passport and travel conventionally? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/4 "2026-09-23T22:51:59Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > 1. He took a boat (legally?) to Bermuda. It was the Bahamas, which may not make any difference to your questions, but The Bahamas are a lot closer to US territory, and so a much smaller boat would work, one which might consider it a “local” trip and not formally ask for documents, but I don’t know. His documents at that point seemed to be a Greek passport, as he had surrendered his US passport. Up to now, according to the linked article, Greek courts have forbidden their government to extradite Greek citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/5 "2026-09-23T22:54:32Z")
Thank you all. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/6 "2026-09-23T22:59:45Z")
FYI, he’s hoping for a presidential pardon. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/7 "2026-09-24T03:34:13Z")
Of course he is. But he was smarter to run, he probably doesn’t have enough money to buy a pardon. I’m confused, though, because he was accusing the state governor of weaponizing the justice system against him, and he was a senior budget official for the governor’s office. He was accused and convicted of extorting money from contractors for state contracts. I know nothing about the law, why is this a federal-level trial rather than state-level? And since it is federal, does it make any sense for him to accuse the governor that way, or is/was he just flailing? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/8 "2026-09-24T04:33:03Z")
Presumably, if his name was on a fugitive or wanted list, then using his Greek passport, or any ID document, at an American airport, could have made his name pop up and get him arrested. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/9 "2026-09-24T07:04:54Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > 1. I suppose he took the train to Athens. Just commenting on this part. While it’s possible to travel from London to Athens by train, I’d think it’s unlikely that that’s what he did. He’d first have to take the Eurostar from London through the channel tunnel to a city on the European continent, such as Paris or Brussels; but the Eurostar operates in a planes-like manner, with check-ins and gates and security screening at the departure station, so it wouldn’t offer much in terms of anonymity over a flight. Once he’s on the continent, there wouldn’t be further such checks, as you can generally just board trains in Europe without any kind of security screening or check-in. But it’d still be a hell of a journey to go from Paris or Brussels to Athens by train. It would definitely take you several connections and at least 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/10 "2026-09-24T09:27:35Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > I suppose they have a bad-boy list and would arrest you if you tried a more straightforward escape Am I right on this point. I don’t know if the US has such a list. The order to surrender the passport and not leave the country probably is from the court and I don’t know how well they coordinate with border patrol. From my understanding, the US does do as many checks on people leaving the US, but perhaps they can get data from the airlines. As was said said up thread, it may be that he got someone to take him illegally. That could have given him enough time to fly to the UK and then on to Greece before his name would have been sent to Interpol. No idea how realistic this is ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/11 "2026-09-24T09:35:30Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > it may be that he got someone to take him illegally Is one required to present a stamped exit permit to depart U.S. territory? Is every small ferry operator obliged to scan FBI and Interpol databases? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/12 "2026-09-24T09:53:19Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Is one required to present a stamped exit permit to depart U.S. territory? Is every small ferry operator obliged to scan FBI and Interpol databases? The US doesn’t stamp passports on the way out. Don’t know the answer to the second question but I would guess not. As I said above, it may be that he wouldn’t be on any such list until after he fled. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/13 "2026-09-24T23:49:10Z")
Rarely does the US check outbound, but they do have access to purchased flight list, and international flights require you to provide credentials (passport) that prove you can enter the destination country. (Possibly law enforcement also has flags on domestic flights) Canada I’m tlod will send back people entering flagged in their system - they share the police activity databases, so his crime would be listed. Presumably, private boat to Bahamas is the easiest way. There is no outbound customs. Not sure what Bahamas does to flag people for the USA, or even bothers to cooperate. I presume he flew to London because the Bahamas connnection to Britain. How serious, for example, would the passport check be to get on a ferry across the channel? ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/14 "2026-09-25T09:21:32Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > How serious, for example, would the passport check be to get on a ferry across the channel? Same as any other legal way to get to France. There’s a full border control setup; French immigration control, customs, biometric scanners that are still being fully rolled out because they’re really slow and not adequate for when there’s a rush so they keep having to do manual checks… As an EU passport holder he’d be able to skip the biometrics step, but that would be the same at any UK/EU border crossing. The cross-channel ferry [website](https://www.portofdover.com/ferry/) suggests getting there two hours before departure, same as an airport. It’s not like the EU days when I remember on a school trip the teacher just collected everyone’s passports for a stamp and all they did was a headcount to check the number of kids matched. I reckon it’s as simple for this guy as he had a Greek passport that wasn’t known to the US authorities. Friends who have dual nationality and multiple passports have often mentioned that info isn’t always connected between the two, so they need to be careful about ‘overstaying visas’ by leaving a country on the wrong passport. Getting out of the US would have been the only complex bit. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/15 "2026-09-25T13:38:08Z")
My passport application (Canadian) did ask what other passports I held. I guess the other question is, if the USA collects this too, how far beyond the application does this data go? The authorities in the USA and Canada share their police databases. Presumably, when you show up at a border crossing either way, the border patrol sees the same as any police would doing a name check. (I recall a news story many years ago about a Canadian woman denied entry to the USA because she had attempted suicide a few years earlier, and the border guards deemed her too “mentally unstable” to enter. Her name was in the public safety database, it was part of the 911 call for an ambulance.) The key point, I guess, is that the USA probably does not have the same arrangement with most other countries (Presumably, not the Bahamas). Sam with the EU? I presume this means that a cursory name search on local and interpol data would not show this man’s name. I do wonder if had he been convicted, the name would show? Most countries do have restrictions on people who have been convicted. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/16 "2026-09-25T14:21:03Z")
I am not a lawyer either, but bribery of any government official is a federal crime - Title 18. Accusing the governor was probably just him flailing about, or maybe trying to get President Trump’s attention for a pardon. (The governor is a Democrat.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/17 "2026-09-25T15:14:56Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > How serious, for example, would the passport check be to get on a ferry across the channel? He has a Greek passport. It’s easy to get from the UK to anywhere in the EU if you are an EU citizen. Until there’s formal extradition request from the US, i doubt any European country would care what he did on the US. I’d think most EU countries and the UK would extradite someone accused of a serious crime, but if Greece doesn’t extradite Greek citizens, he’s probably in the clear. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/18 "2026-09-25T19:44:22Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > I am not a lawyer either, but bribery of any government official is a federal crime - Title 18. And there’s my answer, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/19 "2026-09-25T19:47:18Z")
I hope that prosecutors in Connecticut can find some state crimes with which to charge him, just in case he does win a pardon from Trump. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327/20 "2026-09-26T06:59:52Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > He has a Greek passport. It’s easy to get from the UK to anywhere in the EU if you are an EU citizen. Until there’s formal extradition request from the US, i doubt any European country would care what he did on the US. This sound most plausible. He skipped bail, I assume that there was not yet an arrest warrant, and I wonder if the EU sees US arrest warrants unless they are forwarded to interpol. So no reason to stop him. But, stay off air travel which likely is monitored by the USA for no-fly list issues. And he wouldn’t be definitely safe until he was in Greece. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fleeing-the-united-states/1033327.md?page=2)