On 25 February 2023 a historic US-Caribbean Roundtable on Citizenship by Investment was held in Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. The highly productive and mutually beneficial engagement involved delegations of the five Eastern Caribbean states with Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programmes led by their Prime Ministers and a delegation of the Government of the United States led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of the Treasury. Also in attendance was the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and the Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
Both parties engaged in a frank discussion on the threats and challenges faced by these programmes and the important contribution that they have made to national development in these small states.
The US recognised that the CBI Programmes provide a legitimate service and have assisted in the survival of the participating economies by providing revenues, particularly considering the existential threat to our vulnerable small island states – emanating from the climate emergency – and the onslaught of recent adverse external shocks, including the ongoing war in Ukraine. CBI revenues are invaluable for funding major infrastructural and development projects, and for building resilience.
It was accepted that dismantling these Programmes would severely compromise the prosperity and prospects of the countries, triggering a plethora of negative social consequences domestically and potentially leading to an upsurge in criminality, among other pathologies.
Both parties affirmed their commitment to a collective fight to safeguard their respective financial systems against threats posed by illicit actors.
The five Governments collectively committed to six CBI principles proposed by the US, several of which had previously been proactively adopted by the OECS states of their own volition as part of their risk management framework to strengthen and safeguard the integrity of their CBI Programmes.
The six principles agreed to are the following:
Grenada
Prime Minister Hon. Dickon Mitchell
Chairman, CBI Committee Mr. Richard Duncan (via Zoom)
St Kitts and Nevis
Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew
Head of CBI Unit, Mr. Michael Martin
Saint Lucia
Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre
Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Wayne Girard
Permanent Secretary of Finance, Mr. Francis Fontenelle
Chairperson CIP Board, Mr. Lorne Theophilus
CEO CIP Board, Mr. Claude Emmanuel
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
Governor Timothy Antoine
Dr. Emefa Sewordor
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Director General Dr. Didacus Jules
United States
Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Department of Treasury Ms Anna Morris
Director, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, Ms. Sandra Garcia
Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, Ms. Crina Ebanks
Deputy Director, Office of Global Sanctions and Threat Finance, U.S. Department of State, Ms. Angel Ventling
Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, Barbados, Mr. David Schnier