BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC—Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew said Friday he fully supports the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPPO) ‘s decision to launch an investigation into alleged irregularities within the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI).
Under the CBI, foreign nationals are granted citizenship of the Twin Island Federation in return for making a substantial investment in the country’s socio-economic development.
Currently, the program requires a minimum donation of US$250,000 or a minimum investment of US$400,000.
However, in recent years, concerns have been raised about the program’s administration before the recent reforms, including issues of underselling citizenships, transparency, and financial accountability.
The DPPO said that it plans to appoint a special prosecutor from a foreign jurisdiction to lead the inquiry, with the assistance of a team of outside investigators. It said at least one local investigator, in whom the DPPO has complete confidence, will also be part of the investigative team to ensure collaboration and regional oversight.
In a statement, Prime Minister Drew said that when his administration came to office in August 2022, it had promised to take steps to ensure the integrity of the CBI, which he said had “attracted significant criticism for its lack of transparency and its seeming disregard for rules that were supposed to govern its operation.”
Prime Minister Drew said that after enacting significant CBI reforms, including making the underselling of citizenships illegal, his government led efforts that resulted in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among the five members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that offer CBI programs.
He said that the MOA established CBI reforms and put the OECS member countries, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts-Nevis “on equal footing regarding CBI activities.
“Now that we accomplished that, this administration is turning its attention to irregularities that allegedly occurred with the CBI program before the reforms we enacted,” Prime Minister Drew said, adding that the DPP’s office Friday announced that it has launched an inquiry into those alleged CBI irregularities, and I fully support that effort.
“The CBI program is a vital asset for the citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis. We intend to ensure that it is administered properly and that anyone who improperly takes advantage of it is held to account,” he added.
The DPPO said it had launched the probe “before the current government implemented “significant reforms.
It said it wanted to emphasize the importance of ensuring “a fair and independent inquiry, particularly in light of the potential political implications of the investigation” and that it has “received assurances from the Federal Administration that they will fully support an independent and impartial process, allowing the investigation to proceed.”
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