BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, January 22, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), Mr. Les Khan, have reaffirmed the high due diligence standards associated with the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme, which is regarded as the platinum brand of the economic citizenship industry.
Responding to a question concerning the alleged misrepresentation of the CBI programme by certain parties, Prime Minister Harris and Mr. Khan stated firmly that the CIU does not accept any applications with investments below the legal threshold, and takes the necessary actions when such cases arise.
“The CIU processes applications which on the face of the documentary evidence submitted to it had only the authorized amounts. There has been not one case that has come to [Mr. Khan] and his unit that the amounts that are indicated on the purchase and sales agreement were not authorized,” the prime minister said during his most recent press conference on Wednesday, January 16,
The honourable prime minister added, “In relation to private party transactions, that is a matter in which [Mr. Khan] is not a party to and is not privy to and when evidence surfaces he will do as he has done in the past, the necessary investigations to determine where there is any truth and the appropriate action would be taken. In fact, the CIU, where such cases have been brought, has already d-listed a number of agents from participating in our programme.”
The CEO of the Citizenship by Investment Unit reiterated that his unit only processes applications for the face amount of the totals set out by law; either the $150,000, $200,000 or the $400,000.
“In the sustainable growth fund we get $150,000 into our account. With the real estate option of $200,000 and $400,000, the application is for that amount and we get a purchasing sale agreement for the $200,000 or the $400,000, and the unit processes its applications based on that information that comes through,” Mr. Khan said.
