News

Published 11 May 2017

St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): At his press conference Wednesday (May 10), Prime Minister Timothy Harris was asked what safeguards are there to guard against tainted money being used to access citizenship from St Kitts and Nevis.

The question was asked against the backdrop of China’s claim that Ren Biao used some of his alleged criminal gains to obtain St Kitts and Nevis citizenship.

The Prime Minister told reporters that the overhauled CBI features several layers of due diligence.

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Published 11 May 2017

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The government has signaled its intention to move against an existing situation in which suspects of violent crime given bail reportedly end up committing other serious crimes while on bail.

Attorney General Vincent Byron is indicating that appropriate legislation will be tightened up to address those and other crime-related concerns.

The government wants to amend both the bail act and the firearms act.

“An assessment of trends over the past five years has revealed that criminals charged with capital felonies and are being granted bail have gone on to orchestrate and commit other capital offences. This alarming trend has led the government to seriously consider the possibility of amending the 2012 Bail Act to include a certain category of offences that will not be eligible for bail. Currently, Section 3 of the Bail Act gives discretion to the court to determine whether bail should be granted or denied, Sub Section 2 provides for partial exception. We have persons charged for certain offences, including murder then bail may only be granted by the High Court. The recent trend is quite troubling, and seems to require a proactive approach in the fight against crime. Consequently, the police force has recommended that the Bail Act be amended to tighten the framework and to address persons charged with capital offences involving firearms under a different scheme, rather than the granting of bail.”

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