BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOLLOWING an Advisory issued by the United States' Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has assured the media that changes would be made to the Citizen by Investment Programme (CBI Programme).
He made this pronouncement yesterday (May 21) at his Monthly Press Conference held in the Parliamentary Lounge at Government Headquarters on Church Street, Basseterre.
The Advisory was issued on Tuesday (May 20) to "alert financial institutions that certain foreign individuals are abusing the Citizenship-by-Investment program sponsored by the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) to obtain SKN passports for the purpose of engaging in illicit financial activity".
In his response to the contents of the Advisory, PM Douglas said: "We had, of course, as a matter of government-to-government courtesy, had been advised of this discovery prior to the issuance of yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) Advisory and we are very pleased that these attempts by some economic citizens have been uncovered by the United States and its agencies".
He said that his government had long-stressed its commitment to working with regional and international allies to bring a halt to the spreading of international crimes, and that the abuse of the CBI Programme was no exception.
"We are in the process of determining at this moment exactly what changes, if any, should be made to our global Programme, and we will be sure to advise you accordingly as these decisions are arrived at," he told local media operatives.
PM Douglas noted that, in the mean time, the Advisory "makes it clear that the Treasury Department does not wish the Advisory to affect the maintenance of normal relationships between financial institutions in the United States of America and the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis".
"The security measures of our CBI Programme are robust and we work alongside national agencies to ensure good governance at all times. I emphasise that there is no compromise on this at all. Criminals become ever more ingenious at finding ways to break the law and St. Kitts and Nevis, like all other countries, needs to ensure that we stay ahead of them with constant review and upgrading of our security checks," he noted.
The Prime Minister added that his government is well aware of the new and immerging threats posed by transnational organised criminal activities and that it has already prioritised training in areas, including cyber-crime, to assist in detection and investigation of such activities.
"It is already a matter of policy that St. Kitts and Nevis will revoke citizenship if any crime is known to be committed. This is a current policy, and this current policy we will not hesitate to enforce. It is in our nation’s interest to ensure there is continued confidence in our Citizen by Investment Programme and so we will be certain to enhance our security measures as appropriate," he further added.
He then explained that an Advisory Board would be established for the sake of the CBI Programme.
"I am pleased to announce that St. Kitts and Nevis will establish an Advisory Board to comprise eminent citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, drawn from both the public and private sectors, in order to protect and defend the country’s Citizen by Investment Programme."
Responding to a question by a media personnel with regards to the US Advisory stating that the CBI Programme "lax controls", Dr. Douglas emphasised that all assurances have been pursued.
He stressed that when his government assured that all Iranians would be suspended from the CBI Programme as of last July (2013), it had been done.
"I think there might have been some misunderstanding and misinterpretation on the part of the Unites States with regard to those who were already processed and had been approved after appropriate due diligence checks had been done and they had successfully passed those checks, but which, however, were continued to be processed in the issuance of Citizenship," he explained.
He debunked the belief of the USA’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that passports were still being issued to Iranians despite the government's public assurance.
PM Douglas advised that all his government had promised to do were done.
