St Kitts and Nevis issues legal notices, cracking down on underselling in CBI

St Kitts and Nevis: The government of St Kitts and Nevis has once again intensified efforts to uphold the integrity of its Citizenship by Investment Programme, this time, by taking action against the ones who have acquired citizenship by contributing less than the official threshold.

It is reported that the government has issued legal notices to some individuals who gained citizenship despite failing to meet the required investment sums. The government stated that such actions were against the laid-out procedures and legal framework designed for the CBI programme and needed to be checked at the earliest.

This landmark move highlights the seriousness of the government of St Kitts and Nevis to follow robust due diligence processes after it took over the responsibility of enhancing the overall CBI industry and curb the longstanding issue of underselling by certain developers.

The Ministry’s action clearly shows that the measures were aimed at maintaining transparency of the programme, preventing any sort of exploitation, and ensuring compliance. By enforcing these laws, the nation only wants to protect the interests of genuine investors and give fair environment to all CBI investors.

Ministry of National Security ensured that those who had gained citizenship through “false representation, fraud or willful concealment of material facts” have been asked to explain their conduct and have also been accorded an opportunity to provide proof of their investment and rectify any shortfalls in their investments before December 31, 2024. This has been done to ensure transparency in the system.

St Kitts and Nevis is the first country in the world to have started the economic citizenship programme. The government has stated that it will continue to evolve means through which more foreign investors can be attracted to the nation.

St Kitts and Nevis was the first nation to increase minimum investment

Notably, St Kitts and Nevis was also the first country to increase its minimum investment threshold to US$250,000 while ending the practice of underselling in July 2023.

This major step paved the way for other countries in the Caribbean offering CBI to follow the footsteps of St Kitts and Nevis. This led to the Five countries offering CBI in the region to sign a historic MoU, stating that each of them will increase their investment amounts and maintain it to a similar price of US$250,000, while eliminating any security or compliance risks.

The MoU also called for stricter due diligence practices including mandatory interviews of each applicant.

This recent action of issuing legal notices has also been stemmed from this historic MoU. It was signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada Saint Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis.

While several applicants follow the rules as stated in the MoU, those who secure citizenship through discounting undermine the system.

The developers who are found to have been offering these unauthorized deals will also be under scrutiny as authorities have been reiterating that such actions not only damage the overall reputation of the programme but also violates its core principle of transparency.

The Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme was launched by the nation to give a fillip to the country’s economic development, while attracting responsible investors to the nation.