BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC -Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew said Monday he became aware of two civil lawsuits, including one filed in the United States, claiming that there was an “underselling” practice within the country’s Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme between 2021 and 2022.
Under the CBI, foreign investors are granted citizenship of the Twin Island Federation in return for making substantial investments in the country’s socio-economic development.
Underselling occurs when CBI developers seek to discount the statutory minimum investment sum required to be made by an applicant seeking to apply for citizenship. The Florida lawsuit also claims that underselling practices are occurring in another jurisdiction.
Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew
Prime Minister Drew publicly stated on numerous occasions, most recently in a Ministerial Statement in the National Assembly on March 26, 2024, that he had become aware of the situation during the first few days of his office.
He said he had immediately ordered a review of the CBI.
“On taking office after the 2022 general election, our Administration moved expeditiously to close the legislative loopholes that facilitated underselling. Further, I immediately triggered an internal review of our CBI, from which we are still gathering the facts.
“Our priorities were to strengthen our CBI laws, introduce good governance structures, communicate openly with our international partners about the issues we inherited, find authentic investors, and, once our CBI is stabilized, review the facts to determine if any further action should be taken,” said the Prime Minister Dr Drew.
” It is evident that our efforts since taking office to enhance the CBIP have been commendable. We have acted promptly and decisively in a relatively short time. Our commitment to action continues, and the results speak for themselves,” he added.
Regarding the lawsuits, Prime Minister Drew, who also serves as Minister of National Security, Immigration, and Citizenship, said, “I have been adamant since day one in office that the Administration, which I have the privilege to lead, will operate within clear sound governance principles.
“Within the first six months in office, we introduced strong regulations for our CBIP and strong good governance laws in the National Assembly, including the Anti-Corruption Act,” he said.
In December 2022, new Citizenship by Investment Regulations were passed into law to prohibit all forms of underselling expressly. In February 2023, St. Kitts-Nevis agreed to the six CBI reform principles advanced at the historic US-Caribbean Roundtable on Citizenship by Investment.
In July 2023, further regulations were established to reinforce the procedural and other processes within the CBIP, close loopholes, and introduce suitable governance structures. Most recently, in March 2024, a new Citizenship by Investment Unit Bill was tabled, seeking to modernize, corporatize, and strengthen the CBIP based on input from our international partners.
Prime Minister Drew affirmed that our new Administration banned “underselling practices from St. Kitts-Nevis since December 2022. I also specifically led the charge to have a Memorandum of Agreement agreed by the CBI-operating OECS States, signed in April 2024 by all but one territory.
“Establishing a regional minimum investment sum (US$200,000) and banning underselling in the other CBI states were the key pacts. Further, since August 2022, we have been in constant dialogue with our international partners, especially concerning the unfortunate outcomes from the ill-advised prison project program,” he added.
Prime Minister Drew said that the second lawsuit is a judicial review claim in the local High Court seeking an order to revoke all citizenships granted based on investments in the prison project.
“We have already instructed King’s Counsel to act in this judicial review matter. If any of the investments for which citizenships have been granted are proven to be unlawful, with or without the lawsuit,
“I am, and always have been, prepared to take the necessary statutory steps under the Citizenship Act to protect our Federation’s good name and revoke citizenships obtained by fraud. However, I will only do so based on facts and evidence, as every citizen of this country has the right to due process,” said Prime Minister Drew.
Last week, the St. Lucia government, which also runs a CBI program, sought to distance itself from issues that led to a lawsuit filed against several individuals and entities in the region, including Mc Claude Emmanuel, the chief executive officer of the St. Lucia CBI Unit, and a developer.
The government insisted that it has no business with the movie producer, Philippe Martinez, whose MSR Media filed the lawsuit, stressing that his allegations relate to the CBI in neighboring St Kitts-Nevis and the St. Lucia government is not in a position to comment on another country’s CBI.
“For the record, Mr. Mc Claude Emmanuel’s role as the CEO of the Saint Lucia CIP Unit is exclusively for the efficient Administration of the CIP Unit according to the policies set by the laws of the government of St. Lucia. To date, Mr. Emmanuel has performed his role commendably and ethically,” the government said.
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