Just a few days ago: Iranian enters Canada using St Kitts & Nevis bought diplomatic passport, sparking diplomatic row and threats to remove Canada’s visa-free access for St Kitts & Nevis citizens
Please bear in mind that the St Kitts & Nevis sale of passport/citizenship programme was designed by Henley & Partners and is administered by them directly for the government. However, they do not have a total monopoly on the sale of citizenship there as they have managed to obtain – whether by corruption of the avaricious or gulling of the ‘natives’ with ‘beads’ – from the Maltese government. I quote directly from Henley & Partners’ official website:
Henley & Partners in St. Kitts and Nevis
Henley & Partners has been active in St. Kitts and Nevis for nearly 20 years, being the first international firm to set foot in the country and being substantially involved in the marketing and sale of the first real-estate developments under the then Citizenship-by-Investment program. Henley & Partners has been specifically mandated by and entered into an agreement with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2006, first to re-design and re-structure the Citizenship-by-Investment program, create the Citizenship-by-Investment Unit and the new SIDF Option, straighten processes and procedures, advise on policy issues, and also to lead the international promotion of this program.
Henley & Partners continues to carry out work in this capacity and is the only international firm that is mandated directly by the Government. Henley & Partners also continues to be in the lead in promoting the program internationally, organizing some 50+ events globally every year featuring St. Kitts and Nevis, many of which are attended by Government officials from St. Kitts and Nevis, including the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas.
Finally, Henley & Partners has been instrumental in the negotiations with the European Union that lead to visa-free access for all St. Kitts and Nevis citizens a few years ago, and continues to support actively the expansion of visa waiver treaties for St. Kitts and Nevis and for the benefit of all St. Kitts and Nevis citizens.
Henley & Partners has offices in Basseterre, St. Kitts, and Charlestown, Nevis. Through these offices, the firm assists non-nationals in acquiring citizenship through the official Citizenship-by-Investment Program, provides fiduciary services and advises on all aspects of investing and doing business in St. Kitts & Nevis and throughout the Eastern Caribbean region.
The specialized services of Henley & Partners are a resource and complement the services of other consulting and law firms. We frequently assist other firms and their clients, particularly with the unique and specific details required by the acquisition of citizenship under the citizenship-by-investment program. Please contact us for more information.
Published Friday on Caribarena News, the Caribbean news portal:
Antigua St. John’s – Concerns have been raised about the government’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) after an Iranian man was stopped in Canada with a St Kitts and Nevis passport.
A story on the CNN.com website written by TimesCbean said that Alireza Moghadhan tried to enter the country on a diplomatic passport, which he told Canadian officials he bought for $1 M.
The Canadian government sent a representative to discuss the matter with St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas.
The government of Canada threatened to discontinue its visa free access to St Kitts and Nevis nationals if its borders were penetrated by persons of “dubious character carrying St Kitts and Nevis passports”.
The Canadian government insisted that the St Kitts and Nevis government stop allowing citizens from Afghanistan and Iran to take part in the CIP.
Reports are that the Douglas-led government has grown the federation’s economy through the programme.
Speaking to Antigua & Barbuda’s attorney general, Justin Simon QC, about whether the government is concerned about a similar occurrence once it starts to issue passports via the CIP, Simon said the Citizenship Investment Unit (CIU) has not opened its doors to all people who wish to apply for Antigua & Barbuda passports.
Simon said there are in fact nationals of certain countries whose applications, if they are received, would be seriously scrutinised and vetted for obvious security reasons.
He said approval would be favourable once Antigua has an excellent relationship with a country which gives its nationals entry preference.
“We are conscious of the risks, and are developing internationally accepted due diligence processes with reputable overseas due diligence providers to assess and comprehensively advise our CIU on all applicants,” Simon said.
He said, “Our local agents have additionally been informed of countries in respect of which an affirmative government policy position is yet to be given. Consultation with our international partners is key and will be an ongoing evolving process.”
The attorney general said the government is excited about the potential for real estate development in the tourism sector.
This, he said, will always be weighed against the risk of travel restrictions to Antigua & Barbuda’s nationals.
Simon’s statement came as he, along with Tourism Minister John Maginley and the CIU CEO, are attending a two-day Global Residence & Citizenship Conference in Miami hosted by Henley & Partners, a leading world stakeholder in citizenship by investment programmes in Malta, Switzerland, and Cyprus.
The conference opened yesterday and concludes today.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Douglas issued a press release saying that citizens of Iran and Afghanistan were no longer eligible for passports under the CIP.
Moghadhan had allegedly indicated to Canadian officials that he intended to seek an audience with the prime minister of that country.
Allegations, however, are that the Iranian breached all protocols that must be followed by foreign officials entering Canada on official business with the prime minister.
“He had no appointment. He was an unknown. He could not state the nature of his diplomatic engagements. Without a St Kitts & Nevis passport Moghadhan would have had difficulties in getting access to Canada,” the news article posted on November 19 said.
The CNN.com report went on to quote Dr Timothy Harris, leader of the opposition Team UNITY in St Kitts, as saying, “Serious damage has been done to the image and reputation of St Kitts & Nevis…”
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http://www.caribarenaantigua.com/antigua/news/latest/105068-concerns-raised-over-cip.html
“We are conscious of the risks, and are developing internationally accepted due diligence processes with reputable overseas due diligence providers to assess and comprehensively advise our CIU on all applicants,”
In other words, due diligence processes are less rigorous than they should be.
That is more or less Malta’s position, as amply proven already.
Shall we be gullible for once and believe our NEW MOVEMENT that the United States Government has given us assurance that we will not be removed from the Visa Exemption List in the United States? This is what Super One was trumpeting in its news bulletins.
The US did no such thing. They simply haven’t committed themselves either way. Super One would read that bit of news as reassurance, when it is anything but.
The Super One news is likely to be a total fabrication.
The notion that what is said by the Little Joey and his Forty Thieves is true is an irrelevance to him and them – they are innately amoral.
These are the people that are offering talks to reach a consensus on the passports for sale law.
It is a trap. They sincerely believe that anyone that uses a moral compass and restricts themselves to telling the truth and attempting to work for the common good is a weak fool.
We must never become like them – as in my opinion, they are evil.
We must oppose and fight them
Meanwhile, even the US are investigating the St. Kitts & Nevis case referred to above.
http://www.winnfm.com/press-releases/6364-st-kitts-diplomatic-scandal-exploding-u-s-government-investigating
“The Popular and Charismatic UNITY Leader, informed hundreds of nationals in attendance and thousands listening via radio and online broadcasts with hundreds more viewing via video stream, that officials of the U.S government are concerned over the citizenship by investment program and in particular the due diligence and scrutiny that is applied. “They were here on Wednesday and Thursday in meetings with government officials such as Cabinet Secretary Joseph Edmeade. This fiasco relating to the reckless sale of diplomatic passports will not go away soon,” said Dr. Harris.”
https://www.henleyglobal.com/countries/st-kitts-nevis/
Those passports for cash issued by St. Kitts & Nevis have caused other headaches in Canada.
Take this case involving Mr. Rustem Tursunbayev, a native of Kazakhstan.
He had been living in Canada as a permanent resident since 2009. On 10th February 2012, he was arrested by Canadian authorities after an Interpol alert.
The government of Kazakhstan is accusing him of stealing $20 million in assets from Kazakhstan’s state-owned nuclear company Kazatomprom, of which he was the Vice-President. He fled Kazakhstan after the President of Kazatomprom had been arrested.
(One must keep in mind that allegations by the Kazakhstan government must be taken cautiously, since Kazakhstan is not exactly a democratic country).
Mr. Tursunbayev is held under house arrest as Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board must decide whether he can remain in Canada.
It turned out that during the detention review, the board heard from Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) counsel Andrej Rustja that Mr. Tursunbayev had a purchased passport from St. Kitts & Nevis and that there was a high risk that Mr. Tursunbayev could flee Canada with the use of that passport.
Mr. Tursunbayev had never declared the St Kitts & Nevis passport to the CBSA, but he was using it according to convenience.
http://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2012/03/02/alleged_embezzler_is_victim_of_kazakhstans_corrupt_regime_defence_says.html
See also:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/04/rustem-tursunbayev/
Interesting extracts from the second link:
1. “The Saint Kitts passport was obtained only out of convenience, said Mr. Waldman.”
“He said a Saint Kitts passport allowed his client to travel without a visa to more countries than his Kazakhstan passport and it was “common practice.””
Mr. Waldman is defence lawyer.
2. “An official with Canada Border Services Agency also argued Friday that Mr. Tursunbayev, 49, the former vice–president of Kazakhstan’s national nuclear company Kazatomprom, had huge amounts of undeclared cash.”
This is the sort of person who may be attracted to Malta’s Individual Investor Program. And these are the type of situations Malta could find itself dealing and wasting its time with.
This is the sort of territory that Joseph Muscat has led Malta into, for the sake of cash.
Get ready for some close scrutiny of passports from now on. Customs Officers’ computers will immediately inform them to be on high alert whenever presented with a Maltese passport. Seeing as most PL supporters generally visit ‘Landin’ they will be the first hit. Suffer.
Prophetic. We have been warned.