BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Vincent Byron Jr. has offered an explanation to the allegation of Team Unity Administration harbouring a Chinese-born economic citizen residing in St. Kitts, who is reportedly on Interpol’s Wanted List.
On Wednesday (May 3), a Carib Update News Service report alleged that Chinese diplomatic officials had claimed that one of their nationals is being harboured in St. Kitts and that Beijing said they have had no cooperation from the Government of Prime Minister Timothy Harris on the issue.
“China is claiming that the man bought a Kittitian passport under that country’s controversial Citizenship by Investment Programme. He has been accused of swindling over US$100M from a Chinese-state firm,” Carib Update reported.
The regional media house also reported that: “Chinese diplomatic sources said that in intercepted communication on April 16, said that the man called relatives in Beijing seeking an additional 190,000 US dollars to help to continue pay for what he reportedly described as his protection by Kittitian authorities.”
In an interview with WINN FM’s Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Clive Bacchus, AG Byron held the inflexible position that the Chinese Government did not approach the Federal Government on the matter, but noted that the Team Unity Administration had had informal approaches on it.
“St. Kitts and Nevis does not have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China and, therefore, the Chinese have not approached the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis on any matter. We have had informal approaches on this matter concerning someone who is a native of China, Chinese background, but who are currently St. Kitts and Nevis citizens. And as a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, they are due the same rights as any other citizen guaranteed by our Constitution.”
He pointed out that if there is an allegation against any citizen of the Federation, one would hope that the State and the people would understand that such an allegation must be presented to that individual and they would have the opportunity and the right to due process.
Byron was asked as the AG if he was not concerned that pressure could be applied to his Government from its Chinese counterpart, knowing that only recently a pitch was made in that country for the CBI programme, and how would he deal with reports that claimed the Chinese national had made a call to that country (which was intercepted by police there) for money to pay government officials in St. Kitts and Nevis.
To that question, he said: “I am dealing with the allegation that the gentleman made a call to China. I heard that on the Carib Update news and I thought it was very ridiculous because, why would someone who had absconded China with $100M wants to go back to China to get $190,000? Did he leave the money in China? Or if he brought the money here, why does he have to go to China to get $190,000 to give any government official? It is easier to draw it from a bank or however he has it here and pass it on to some authority. That is the claim!
“For me, when I heard that I thought what sort of nonsense is that. I started to question the origin of that story and I wondered what is happening; because, it just doesn’t make sense for someone who has supposedly committed massive fraud and has deep pocket to then call back to the same China to get $190,000.”
He continued: “In today’s world, we know that in western democracies you can move with any sort of money over a certain amount. It has to go through a whole scrutiny. How the people going to get that money out of China? Is it going to come from American bank, an European bank to St. Kitts? It just doesn’t make sense!”
The AG was also questioned on his awareness of the alleged presence of Chinese undercover police officers in the Federation and if in any form there were any level of cooperation between them and their local counterparts or the Team Unity Administration.
“As far as I know there was no approach by any Chinese representative,” was his response, adding “But this report is deeply disturbing, because, clearly if this report is true, there has been a violation of our national sovereignty. I can’t see that foreign undercover agents should be coming in and operating in our country. What is most disturbing is the fact that they should go and interview a child, a young person, without their parents being present. It is appalling, to say the least.”
He hoped that such information is false but emphasised if it were true, the nation would have to make a formal objection.
“We are a small country, we don’t have any military forces to fight, but we do believe that the international community would want to observe what is happening and be concerned as we are that our borders are being breached and that that foreign undercover agents can openly operate within our borders. I don’t think that is what the whole concept of the international relations call for, so we have some deep concerns about it.”
The AG was further asked if he were able to confirm that undercover agents were in the Federation and also if the local police had knowledge of same, to which he responded in the negative but advised Bacchus to consult with Commissioner Queeley on that aspect.
It is known that if an economic citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis runs afoul of the good name of the country, he or she will lose their citizenship; a truism to which the Minister of Justice had acknowledged earlier in his interview with Bacchus.
However, from that backdrop, the AG was asked: “Are you saying now that people who have been struck off the list before for allegations were given due process as well?
“That is correct,” was his response. “Under our watch I see nothing...we are very consistent at this time. What we understand is that the allegation is that this person of Chinese descent had applied for citizenship in 2013 and was granted citizenship back in September 2013. Our information is, at that time a proper due diligence process had been done and there had been no red flag. There had been no indication whatsoever that the individual had had any wrong doing that came up in that report and, as such, citizenship been granted.
“It was the following year that we understand that the then Government, the past Government, their attention was drawn to it that there was now an Interpol red flag. And that has been so, but as I mention earlier, it does not mean that because somebody has an Interpol red flag you carry them to the border and ask them to leave. There must be due process in which there has to be proper ventilation.”
