BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) yesterday (May 30) officially launched its website at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, and among the presenters was Dr. Ken Ballantyne who slammed the local media for painting false images and publishing negative things about the Citizenship-by-Investment Programme.
“Please, someone, prove me otherwise that there appears to be this myth that we are so mired in the throes of mediocrity, that the reality of having the very best citizenship investment programme in the world scares us profusely. As a result, we do not know quite how to appreciate it, so we do everything humanly possible to bring it to a level in keeping with our own low expectations.
“How else then can one explain the negative things written, all the false images painted in the local press by our own journalists and commentators, or spewed wantonly on the airwaves and other forms of the media, by uninformed individuals, about a highly successful Citizenship-by-Investment Programme?
“I am here this morning to debunk that myth, provide you with the facts to instill confidence in your achievements, and to challenge all who claim to have knowledge, whether first-hand or hearsay of any iota of alleged corruption or wrong doing being levelled at this rebranded programme,” Dr. Ballantyne said.
The former Head of the Citizenship-by-Investment Unit (CIU), now retained as Consultant to the Citizenship-by-Investment Programme, provided the audience an overview of what his role had entailed, including due diligence/background checks on all applicants before approval is granted for citizenship.
Dr. Ballantyne declared that it was for that reason he took umbrage when “uninformed self-styled commentators write such diatribe in our newspapers and other forms of media in an effort to cause hate and division under the guise of selfish motive”.
In seeking to aptly illustrate his point, Dr. Ballantyne referred to an article published by one of the local media houses, headlined “SIDF NOT FULLY COMPUTERISED?” which he claimed read: “Applications can come to the SIDF offices DIRECTLY or VIA EMBASSIES, MISSIONS, CONSULATES, from possibly all nationalities, speaking different languages. The process involves large sums, many banks, electronic and wire transfers and many agencies. All these steps have to be documented and be traceable as the need arises.
“The SIDF offices must have the capability to link with international agencies, eg., FBI, INTERPOL, MI5, MI6. Our country’s image is at stake; St. Kitts-Nevis must not be a rogue nation. Our country must not be the haven for rapists, pedophiles, drug and gun-runners and people who have committed crimes against humanity…”
He rubbished the contents of the article and admonished the writer about their inaccuracies.
“How on earth can one who claims to love this country write such nonsense is beyond comprehension! Is the author trying to scare potential applicants away? We must ask ourselves, ‘What is the agenda of such a writer who clearly has not informed himself?’
“To begin with, he should have informed himself that the SIDF does not accept applications for citizenship. All applications must go through the CIU. The SIDF is an option for investment, in the same way as purchasing a property at Ocean’s Edge, Christophe Harbour or Silver Reef, or any other approved project in which a substantial investment qualifies the investor to apply to the CIU for citizenship.”
Implying that the writer was oblivious to the truth, Dr. Ballantyne postulated that his misinformation is laughable if it were not a serious indictment on the programme.
“He could have found out that no Embassy, Mission or Consulate can send an application to the CIU, and certainly not the SIDF. Every application filed for citizenship by investment must be done through a local agent…that is, our local lawyers, accountants and the like who are registered as ‘Registered Agents’ with the Financial Services Authority. It is through their offices every application comes; the good, the bad and the ugly. Only the good makes it…the bad and the ugly are rejected. This, any agent can attest to,” he added.
Earlier in his presentation, Dr. Ballantyne said he had heard a lot of negative things said about the programme and reporters failed to seek him out to learn of the truth, but instead fed the reading and listening public with misinformation.
