Last Updated on June 5, 2019, 12:36 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Timothy Harris has described attacks against its Citizenship by Investment Programme as “ill-informed”.
EU MEPs Ana Gomes and Marietje Schaake in a letter urged EU institutions to consider terminating St Kitts and Nevis’ right to travel freely across the Schengen Area without the need to apply for a visa. The appeal was based on two key points. The first was that Mr Andrei Pavlov, a Russian citizen allegedly involved in the murder of auditor Sergei Magnitsky, had used St Kitts and Nevis’ Programme to make over 70 trips to the European Union. The second was that other “questionable” individuals had obtained Kittitian citizenship, in what could be construed as a pattern of inadequate applicant vetting.
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis said both the points are “basically false, fake news, nothing of the current reality with respect to our Programme.”
As it turns out, Mr Pavlov is not, and never was a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis. There is evidence that he sought information on the Programme, but there is nothing to suggest he even lodged an application for citizenship.
Additionally, St Kitts and Nevis runs a highly sophisticated due diligence system, with applicants having to pass scrutiny on the part of the Government, regional and international crime control organisations, and independent professional firms specialising in background checks on persons, businesses, and funds. “Our due diligence is one of the best. It is multi-layered and multifaceted, using international firms and agencies,” highlighted Prime Minister Harris. MEPs Gomes and Schaake provide no example of problematic cases involving Kittitian economic citizens that date to after 2015 – the year the Programme was reformed to become exceptionally meticulous in its applicant vetting.
The 10 May letter misrepresents the St Kitts and Nevis Programme, distorting facts to advance an agenda that has little regard for accuracy, or, most importantly, the impact that negative press can have on the continuation of the Programme. The flow of articles that followed the letter, and that did not even attempt to report on the Programmes’ integrity, struck blows at St Kitts and Nevis, unjustly undermining its reputation and risking damaging a small island who is attempting to grow sustainably. It is no surprise that the Prime Minister should urge MEPs Gomes and Schaake to “recall their letters and to apologize to our people.”
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
