CIP CEO defends programme’s integrity

By Emmanuel Joseph

The head of Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) says an independent operational audit has found no evidence of corruption within the unit’s internal processes.

In an exclusive interview with St. Lucia Times, CIP Chief Executive Officer Mc Claude Emmanuel said the details of the review conducted by Deloitte will be made public when the CIP annual report for 2024–2025 is tabled in Parliament during the new session.

His disclosure comes ahead of a January 26 High Court hearing in a claim brought by former prime minister Allen Chastanet, who is seeking judicial review of the CIP’s administration. Chastanet, who oversaw reforms to the CIP during his tenure from 2016 to 2021, has named the Minister with responsibility for the CIP, Dr Ernest Hilaire and the CIP Board as defendants. A 30-page judgment delivered in October rejected his application for an interlocutory injunction but allowed the hearing of substantive allegations to proceed.

Chastanet wants the court to rule on the “illegality and/or invalidity and/or unlawful and/or unreasonable conduct and administration by the defendants”. The defendants have denied any wrongdoing.

Addressing claims of corruption, Emmanuel told St. Lucia Times in the interview conducted ahead of the December 1 general election, that he could only speak about the internal operations of the CIP unit.

“I can speak on the processes before I was even there up to now, as well as the staff who are still there; we have staff who were there for the entire time. And internally, our… audit shows that there has been no incidence of corruption. We recently performed our first operational audit by Deloitte, and nothing unsavoury was discovered,” he contended.

Emmanuel said the review was conducted as part of Saint Lucia’s commitments under its six agreed principles with the United States. 

The CIP CEO said the latest official earnings will also be released in the upcoming annual report. He gave what he described as a “conservative” estimate.

“When you factor in all the proceeds from the inception of the programme, the State has definitely earned in the high hundreds of millions of dollars for the programme,” he said. “But obviously, I would prefer the policymakers publish these documents.”

When contacted to shed light on the figures, Dr Hilaire declined an interview, saying he was focused on his election campaign.

Regarding the use of CIP funds, Emmanuel said that while the CIP Unit processes applications and receives funds, the money is transferred to the Government. 

“So, when it’s in the government’s control, I cannot tell you definitively what it is used for. Obviously, some of [the uses] would come to our attention, so there are infrastructural developments taking place that have been financed by our programme; all of the relief that vulnerable parents have received has been funded by our programme.

“Many other capital initiatives have been done through the programme. However, as I told you, we receive the funds, and they are transferred to central government. And when government has the funds, they have their own agenda,” Emmanuel explained.

He added that the government had recently expanded social support, including providing sanitary products to students, giving food assistance, introducing a subsidised school meal plan at $1 per day, and increasing pensions to $500. 

At a macro level, Emmanuel said the CIP contributes about seven per cent, or roughly EC$189 million, to the national budget of EC$2 billion.

“While the percentage figure appears to be negligible, that is still more than a drop in the bucket. That’s a significant inflow,” he said, positioning the programme as an “alternative revenue-generating source” alongside tourism and construction, especially with a decline in agriculture.

Since its inception nine years ago, the CIP has approved just two projects, according to Emmanuel — the Caribbean Galaxy hotel project in Canelles; and the A’ila Resorts development at Rodney Bay by Atlas Construction Company, which will bring Saint Lucia’s first-ever whole-wellness facility.

A third proposal was approved — Desert Start Holdings’ mega project in the south, encompassing boutique resorts, a marina, a casino, shopping, waterfront villas, and a world-class racetrack with turf and dirt courses. However, that multi-billion-dollar project never progressed due to missing approvals from the developer, policy changes, and COVID-19 disruption.

Emmanuel stressed that the programme’s priority going forward is to meet the expectations of international stakeholders and ensure that “the applicants who are seeking Saint Lucian passports are not unsavoury [or] would cause harm to our country’s reputation.”

He acknowledged, however, that the programme faces major challenges, including international pressures.

Emmanuel noted that some people insist that citizenship should never have a monetary value. Additionally, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are placing greater emphasis on securing their borders.

As a result, he said, there is constant scrutiny to ensure that applicants are reputable and pose no risk.

The CIP head said the Unit examines every application “with a fine-tooth comb, and whilst we cannot predict the future, we will ensure that a thorough [assessment] is done and the applicant is of good repute, is resourceful, is self-financed… That is very, very important”.

He also insisted that the process for being certified as a citizen of Saint Lucia under the CIP is robust and meets international standards. This rigorous approach has led to bans on nationals from Russia, Cuba, North Korea, Belarus, Italy, Venezuela, and Iran.

“These countries are banned for various reasons,” Emmanuel explained. “We operate within the banking system, which is controlled by the US Treasury Department. Persons of these nationalities are sanctioned, and we cannot remit funds through the system. We do not accept cash or cheque payments; so, everything is wired through the banking system. Also, any country that has upheaval impacts our ability to do due diligence in those territories. We actually have boots on the ground to verify where you work, who you are, who your relatives are, interview people, and make discreet inquiries.”

But while Emmanuel strategises for the long-term future of the programme, former prime minister Dr Kenny Anthony, who launched it in 2016, is forecasting its collapse.

Anthony bases his prediction on the recent decision by Saint Lucia and other OECS member states to sign a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a Regional CIP Regulatory Authority, which would take decision-making out of the hands of national units.

“That is the death knell of the programme. It is just a matter of time,” he told St. Lucia Times.