Fraud Charges Shake the Future of St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship Program

The fate of numerous GCC residents attempting to secure passports from Caribbean nations is currently in limbo as accusations of fraud have been leveled against the economic citizenship programs operated by these countries.

Caribbean passports have been highly sought after in the Middle East due to their ability to grant access to more than 130 countries without requiring a visa. Furthermore, with Caribbean nations reducing citizenship fees to finance the reconstruction of areas impacted by recent hurricanes, the number of applications for citizenship from this area has increased even more.

According to an article published in February 2019, certain immigration agents in Dubai were disregarding legal regulations and creating fake documents to expedite citizenship applications for St Kitts & Nevis, and were charging fees well below the rates approved by the government.

Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, the previous Prime Minister and current opposition leader of St. Kitts & Nevis, has stated that if he regains power, the passports of individuals who obtained citizenship through fraudulent means would be cancelled.

In an interview, Mr. Douglas stated that, “Applicants who knowingly violated regulations to seek our nationality will be called upon to face the law and stripped of their citizenship. The agents who facilitated the crime will also be held accountable.”

Douglas alleged that a group from the government of St. Kitts & Nevis failed to take action against agents who engaged in activities such as creating fake government documents, illegally changing application details, and diverting client funds into their personal accounts. As a result, this prevented government treasuries from receiving significant amounts of foreign currency.

The Citizen by Investment Unit (CIU) is the administrative body in charge of endorsing and handling requests for economic citizenship in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. This unit operates under the guidelines of the Saint Christopher and Nevis Citizenship Act, 1984.

The Unit is currently headed by Mr. Michael Martin, who replaced Les Khan as the CEO of the Unit last year after almost seven years in the role. The department functions under other prominent individuals, such as Ms. Cecile Hull, who serves as Secretary to the Ministry of Security, Ms. Naeemah Hazelle, Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, Thessa Warner, who is the Executive Officer for Head of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, and Charisse Gumbs, who is the Director of the Governor’s Office.

There arises an important question. Are these individuals responsible for these irregularities? If there is an investigation, will they be involved? Shouldn’t there be a national and international investigation? These are concerns that people have in mind.

It is crucial to investigate the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis’ overall Nationality by Investment program, as individuals are investing significant amounts of money (representing their life’s earnings). There have been instances of fraudulent agents selling fake nationality, as well as instances of CIU staff incompetently canceling legitimately acquired nationality. These occurrences result in a waste of individuals’ hard-earned money.