BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has welcomed the decision by member countries within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to strengthen the Citizenship By Investment Programmes (CBI) in their territories.
Under the CBI, foreign investors are granted citizenship in those countries in return for making a substantial investment in their socio-economic development.
Apart from St. Kitts-Nevis, the other islands that have signed the MOA are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Grenada. St. Lucia, which also has a CBI program, has yet to indicate whether it has signed the accord.
Prime Minister Drew, also the chairman of the OECS sub-regional grouping, said the accord seeks to assure the international community that these OECS member states will exchange best practices, due diligence processes, and intelligence related to potential security or compliance risks.
He said the MOA’s purpose is to provide a framework for cooperation and information sharing among the four OECS member states regarding their CBIs.
“The four small island developing states who signed this memorandum have committed to increase and harmonize the minimum investment threshold of their CBIs to an investment sum of at least US$200,000 no later than June 30, 2024, and more importantly, to bring an end to ‘underselling,’ a scourge on the CBI industry in the recent past.
“We have therefore agreed that the minimum investment thresholds for our CBIs shall represent the actual amount of funds received and applied towards an applicant’s qualification under our respective CBIs, and not the gross amount of funds paid by an applicant from which deductions, including the payment of commissions, are made.”
Prime Minister Drew commended his fellow government leaders for recognizing that CBIs are too important to our respective economies to act irresponsibly in their operations.
“This move will show the world that our four nations are responsible and serious about operating investment migration programs that respect the rule of law, are sustainable, and do not offend the interests of our brothers and sisters in the international community,” said Prime Minister Drew.
According to the MOA, signed on March 20 this year, the four OECS member states also agree to share information on CBI applicants, implement enhanced transparency measures such as the disclosure of funds received by CBIs and the use of their proceeds, and conduct independent financial and operational audits to assess CBIs’ compliance with best practice standards.
In addition, they also agree to assign or establish a regional competent authority to set standards based on international requirements and best practices and regulate the CBIs. They also develop common standards to manage the communications and promotion of the CBIs and establish common standards for the regulation of agents operating in the CBIs.
There is also an agreement to facilitate joint training programs and capacity-building initiatives for their respective officials and agencies involved in the administration of CBIs.
The government said that the MOA supplements the six principles agreed upon between all CBI-operating OECS Member States and the United States in March last year.
A government statement said that the Twin Island Federation, which has been operating a CBI since 1984, made significant advancements to its CBI regulations in December 2022 and July 2023.
“CBIs in the OECS had become the target of international scrutiny between 2017 and 2022, during which there was a ‘race to the bottom’ concerning investment options,” the statement said, noting that by July 2023, the minimum investment option of the St Kitts and Nevis CBI “was increased to US$250,000, ‘underselling’ was eliminated, and numerous other good governance structures were implemented”.
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