BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - SINCE the United States' Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued its Advisory to financial institutions and the Federation's Prime Minister's response to such, a number of questions have been raised by Leader of Team Unity Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris.
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".
Yesterday (May21), at his Monthly Press Conference, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas assured the press that changes would be made to the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI Programme) to safeguard its existence.
Speaking exclusively with this publication today (May 22), Dr. Harris called on the Douglas-led Administration to present to the public the statistics regarding the number of Iranians who were issued St. Kitts-Nevis passports following last year's assurance that all with that nationality were suspended from the CBI Programme.
"I challenge the Prime Minister, in an effort at accountability and transparency, say to us how many Iranians were issued passport subsequent to the press release issued by his government indicating that they had cease immediately the issuance of passports to Iranians. The country needs to know because that is a major issue."
Harris said that all aspects of the Programme, with regards to Iranians, should have been discontinued when the assurance was given that they were suspended from it.
"Whether applications were in process before, once you make a commitment that from this day there will be no further issuance, that really ought to have been none, save and accept that he had consulted with these high government officials with whom he had given his word.
"Secondly, we want the Prime Minister to say to us what is the role of the Consulate in Dubai in the sale of passports and with regards, specifically, to the CBI Programme. Is it playing a role, why is it playing a role and what is the nature of the role that it is playing?
"I think the country needs to know and the test really has always been accountability and transparency. The Prime Minister has failed each time in relation to any of those values, so maybe we can make now another effort.”
Dr. Harris raised the issue of changes that were to be made in the Federation's passport, which he said the Prime Minister had stated in Parliament sometime last year would have been done following the Mogadam fiasco.
He questioned whether or not those changes were made.
He further stated that the public wants to know how many persons have entered the United States and Canada holding the Federation's passports and "turned out to be frauds, persons facing charges for child abduction and whether any of them, upon investigation, turned out to be persons who had any link, directly or indirectly, with terrorist organisations or organisations blacklisted by the US Government".
Dr. Harris said there needs to be a clearing of the air if the public is to have any confidence in Dr. Douglas with regards to his response to the US Advisory.
"The fact that the illegal Prime Minister would say to us: 'Well, in April they met with me.' They told him about the difficulties and their concerns and yet his responses to them were inadequate, insufficient and lacking in credibility for the US government to delay the issuance upon advisory.
"The fact that the Advisory came, not withstanding those meetings with our illegitimate Prime Minister, tells us what we have all know, the government's word has no meaning and intelligent people and intelligent entities, having conversations with the government, discount the veracity and the truth of the statement," he said.
