St Kitts PM says he is aware of CBI-related lawsuits

Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew on Monday said he became aware of two civil lawsuits, including one filed in the United States, claiming that there was an “underselling” practice within the country’s Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme between 2021 and 2022. 

Under the CBI, foreign investors are granted citizenship of the twin island Federation in return for making  substantial investments in the socio-economic development of the country. 

Underselling occurs when CBI developers seek to discount the statutory minimum investment sum required to be made by an applicant seeking to apply for citizenship. The Florida lawsuit also claims that underselling practices are currently taking place in another jurisdiction. 

Prime Minister Drew said that publicly on numerous occasions, and most recently in a Ministerial Statement in the National Assembly on March 26, 2024, that he had become aware of the situation during the first few days of taking office. 

He said he had immediately ordered a review of the CBI. 

“On taking office after the 2022 general election, our administration moved expeditiously to close the legislative loopholes that facilitated underselling. Further, I immediately triggered an internal review of our CBI, from which we are still gathering the facts. 

“Our priorities were to strengthen our CBI laws, introduce good governance structures, communicate openly with our international partners about the issues we inherited, find authentic investors and, once our CBI is stabilised, review the facts to determine if any further action should be taken,” said the Prime Minister Dr Drew. 

“It is evident that our efforts since taking office to enhance the CBIP have been commendable. We have acted promptly and decisively in a relatively short time. Our commitment to action continues, and the results speak for themselves,” he added. 

Regarding the lawsuits, Prime Minister Drew, who also serves as Minister of National Security, Immigration, and Citizenship, said “I have been adamant since day one in office that the Administration, which I have the privilege to lead, will operate within clear good governance principles. 

“Within the first 6 months in office, we introduced strong regulations for our CBIP and strong good governance laws in the National Assembly, including the Anti-Corruption Act,” he said. 

In December 2022, new Citizenship by Investment Regulations were passed into law to specifically prohibit all forms of underselling. In February 2023, St. Kitts-Nevis agreed to the six CBI reform principles advanced at the historic US-Caribbean Roundtable on Citizenship by Investment. 

In July 2023, further regulations were established to reinforce the procedural and other processes within the CBIP, close loopholes, and introduce good governance structures. Most recently, in March 2024, a new Citizenship by Investment Unit Bill was tabled, seeking to modernise, corporatise, and strengthen the CBIP, based on input from our international partners. 

Prime Minister Drew affirmed that “underselling practices were banned from St Kitts-Nevis by our new administration since December 2022. I also specifically led the charge to have a Memorandum of Agreement agreed by the CBI-operating OECS States, which was signed in April 2024 by all but one territory. 

“The establishment of a regional minimum investment sum (US$200,000) and the banning of underselling in the other CBI states were the key pacts therein. Further, since August 2022, we have been in constant dialogue with our international partners, especially with respect to the unfortunate outcomes from the ill-advised prison project programme,” he added. 

Prime Minister Drew said that the second lawsuit is a judicial review claim in the local High Court seeking an order that all citizenships granted based on investments in the prison project be revoked. 

“We have already instructed King’s Counsel to act in this judicial review matter. If any of the investments for which citizenships have been granted are proven to be unlawful, with or without the lawsuit, 

“I am, and always have been, prepared to take the necessary statutory steps under the Citizenship Act to protect our Federation’s good name and revoke citizenships obtained by fraud. However, I will only do so on the basis of facts and evidence, as every citizen of this country has the right to due process,” said Prime Minister Drew. 

Last week, the St Lucia government, which also runs a CBI programme, sought to distance itself from issues that led to a lawsuit filed against a number of individuals and entities in the region, including chief executive officer of the St Lucia CBI Unit, Mc Claude Emmanuel and a developer. 

The government insisted that it has no business with movie producer, Philippe Martinez, whose MSR Media filed the lawsuit, stressing that his allegations relate to the CBI in neighbouring St Kitts-Nevis and the St Lucia government is not in a position to comment on another country’s CBI. 

“For the record, Mr Mc Claude Emmanuel’s role as the CEO of the Saint Lucia CIP Unit is exclusively for the efficient administration of the CIP Unit in accordance with the policies set by the laws of government of St Lucia. To date, Mr Emmanuel has performed his role commendably and ethically,” the government said.