PM Drew says Philippe Martinez demanded $40M to $100M to take back RICO

Philippe Martinez of MSR Media has been accused by Prime Minister Terrance Drew of demanding huge sums of amount in order to take back the RICO lawsuit.

While convening at a special roundtable with media on Wednesday, the Prime Minister stated that Martinez demanded between USD 40 million to USD 100 million in order to withdraw the RICO that he filed in the US Federal court earlier in May this year.

He further accused the former Prime Minister Timothy Harris of allowing Philippe Martinez into the country’s citizenship by investment programme despite having a criminal background. Drew said that they are dealing with someone convicted of fraud.

While sharing the details, PM Terrance Drew said that Martinez was already a part of the CBI programme in May 2022 and previous administration under Dr Timothy Harris failed to conduct proper due diligence against the French-American movie producer.

The Prime Minister said that Martinez arrived in Nevis to initially shoot his films. However, he later joined the Citizenship by Investment Programme of St Kitts and Nevis in May 2022 under the leadership of former PM Timothy Harris.

“He was convicted of fraud in a landmark case where he was sentenced to 5 years in prison,” he outlined.

Highlighting the fraudulent background of Philippe Martinez, PM Terrance Drew raised a question, ”How did the Harris administration did not know that?”

PM Terrance Drew criticized Philippe Martinez on his baseless demands

Furthermore, Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew criticized Martinez for demanding $40 million to $100 million from the Government treasury to get away from the RICO suit. He added that huge amount demanded by him is almost equivalent to 5% – 10% of the country’s budget.

The PM further accused Martinez of paying surrogates within the media, podcast and all over for spreading not just false but also absurd information.

Moreover, PM Drew described the French movie actor as an insensitive personality who does not care about the people of St Kitts and Nevis and is all about himself. He added that if he would have really cared about the people and growth of St Kitts and Nevis, he would have never tried to extort money.

Additionally, the Prime Minister ensured that his administration is dealing with accusations made by Martinez in accordance with the laws. He said that his government will never allow any corruption in the CBI Programme of St Kitts and Nevis.

He also said that under his administration, the CBI Programme of St Kitts and Nevis has benefitted the people of St Kitts and Nevis directly. He added that under his tenure, the CBI Programme has become the main stakeholder of their current budget, which means that 60 to 70% of what they pay came from the Programme.

Dr Drew further highlighted about the remarkable initiative undertaken by them, ensuring the integrity and transparency of the CBI Programme of St Kitts and Nevis. He highlighted about the introduction of the Continuing International Due Diligence (CIDD) and reiterated his administration’s commitment to prevent all the criminal activities and elevate the growth and development of St Kitts and Nevis and its CBI Programme.