Published 13 May 2017
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, May 13, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The entire staff of the Citizenship-by-Investment Unit (CIU) is currently undergoing training in the prevention of financial crime, as well as anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML-CFT) preventive measures.
The Thomson Reuters Online Training Introduction courses, which commenced on Wednesday, May 10th, 2017, were initiated by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CIU, Mr. Les Khan.
Thomson Reuters is a risk management solutions company.
Mr. Khan said it is his intention to continue to find meaningful ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship-by-Investment Programme, and as such, the constant training and development of the unit’s staff is of paramount importance.
“The Citizenship-by-Investment Unit is on a journey of continuous improvement,” Mr. Khan stated. “The training that the entire staff has all engaged in this week will strengthen the levels of due diligence that we undertake in ensuring that our programme maintains its platinum standard and ranks amongst the best in the world for authenticity and credibility.”
The Government of National Unity has, over the last two years, implemented a number of measures geared towards the strengthening of the country’s citizenship programme, with much emphasis placed on the due diligence process.
Measures taken include the hiring of IPSA International, a regulatory risk mitigation company, to do a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s citizenship programme, as well as new management for the CIU, the introduction of a 24/7 case management system that allows for round-the-clock, real-time monitoring of the status of CBI applications, the employment of additional due diligence providers with specialist knowledge of particular countries and regions and increased partnerships with friendly governments such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.
These steps taken by the Team Unity Government to strengthen the CBI programme have been welcomed by several international organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Representatives of the IMF, who recently visited St. Kitts and Nevis to conduct an Article Four (IV) Consultation, commended the Team Unity Government for making “significant efforts to strengthen the CBI Programme” and “the due diligence process with dedicated resources and global collaboration, as this is essential to maintain integrity and reduce security risks, preserve the programme’s credibility, and avoid a race-to-the-bottom.”
