European Union Commission, in its recent report out lashes the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu for not conducting due diligence of the Citizenship by Investment applicants. A day after, Vanuatu Government has announced to re-evaluate and re-structure its CBI programme.
Understanding the significance and impacts of CBI, this is a surely much-needed and significant step taken by the government to strengthen its programme and not only provide security and protection to its citizens but to the international community also.
The Citizenship Commission of Vanuatu has done a great job by intensively identifying the risks of Vanuatu’s Citizenship by Investment Programme, which has assisted the government of the island to a great extent and in taking assertive action by adopting more substantial due diligence and a more streamlined citizenship process.
“We are proud of the progressive steps we have taken as a country to strengthen the application and verification process of our Citizenship programme, and after a lengthy selection process of onboarding strategic partners, we look forward to shaping the programme to be highly reputable and globally recognised,” the statement of the government in the press release highlights.
To fulfil the objectives of the Vanuatu government, a United Kingdom-based due to diligence service provider, FACT UK will assist, as it formally finalised a contract with the country’s government. FACT is one of the leading agencies that provide extensive and robust due diligence service across world.
A thorough insight into the Citizenship Investment Programme will be undertaken by the government in order to re-establish amended protocols, which will meet the international standards of the programme.
Under the due diligence, each applicant will undergo an extensive comprehensive check, where the UK-based FACT company will verify their identity, financial as well as criminal records. This process will assure that only reputable investors are being granted the citizenship of Vanuatu.
Meanwhile, in the past six years (since May 2015), the applicants of the programme, who obtained Vanuatu’s Citizenship, will also undergo the extensive process of due diligence, and if one fails to qualify the standards, then the citizenship will be revoked of that applicant.
The government will operate a multi-layered approach involving numerous entities, including authorised agents, CBI Units, an independent due diligence firm, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as partner governments.
The press release of the government cites, “We take the safety and security of all nations very seriously and will not compromise on security checks of applicants looking to gain citizenship in Vanuatu. Our efforts in increasing capabilities in this area are testament to our respect for international relations”.
Meanwhile, to have an in-depth check and re-establishing the protocols of the citizenship programme, one of the world’s leading and the largest government advisory and marketing firms, specialising in residency and citizenship by investment solutions, CS Global Partners will be assisting the government of the country. The advisory firm will make sure that the amended citizenship protocols meet the criteria of the international standards.
This is indeed a good decision taken by Vanuatu’s government which will not only strengthen the citizenship programme but will also obtain a good reputation at the global level.
The country has recently passed its first-ever Cybercrime Act after it received technical assistance in the year 2018 from the Europe Council via its Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+) project. The country is having a long-withstanding and strong relationship with the Council of Europe.
Due diligence is one of the very significant components in the success and failure of any country’s economic citizenship programme. Several countries across the world are having a multi-layered extensive procedure of due diligence that helps it to evaluate the identity of the individuals.
The due diligence process includes:
Background checks
Source of Funds
Criminal Record
Visa Refusal
Due diligence is the investigative procedure of identifying & analysing information and details about a person or business before entering into any agreement or undertaking other commitments. The background checks of an individual are made by conducting diverse methods, which include a – thorough database search and personal referrals from reputable entities.
