BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (SKNIS) – The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is moving ahead with the establishment and operationalisation of its Continuing International Due Diligence (CIDD) Unit, further underscoring its continued efforts towards strengthening the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme and further protecting the country’s reputation internationally.
The new CIDD unit will be headed by former Commissioner of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and current Ambassador for the Eastern Caribbean States to the Kingdom of Morocco, His Excellency Ian Queeley.
In announcing the Friday, June 14 sitting of the National Assembly, Prime Minister and Minister responsible for Citizenship and Immigration, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew said this new mechanism will further help to protect the Federation’s reputation on the international stage.
“We are serious and we want to ensure that we engender confidence in our international partners that we are serious about their security as well,” Prime Minister Dr. Drew said during the second reading and debate on the Citizenship by Investment Unit Bill, 2024.
The CIDD Unit will be headquartered in Europe and will be responsible for conducting continuing due diligence on economic citizens worldwide.
“It will ensure that citizens holding passports issued by St. Kitts and Nevis and residing and working internationally, abide by the laws of the countries in which they reside and visit, and that they respect the international laws as well. [It will] alert the Ministry of National Security of St. Kitts and Nevis citizens who are being investigated for committing or have been arrested and/or charged with financial or other crimes internationally,” Dr Drew added.
In addition, the unit will liaise with and report to international law enforcement, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing agencies when St. Kitts and Nevis citizens are being investigated for committing or have been arrested and/or charged with financial or other crimes internationally. It will also be responsible for retrieving passports issued by St. Kitts and Nevis which have been cancelled by the Ministry of National under the Passport and Travel Document Act Principle 5 of the US-Caribbean roundtable on CBI.
Moreover, the CIDD unit will seek to create policies to mitigate and address any risks associated with St. Kitts and Nevis citizens who obtained their citizenship via the CBI programme.
In all of this, Prime Minister Dr. Drew said the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is “making sure that there would also be strict security measures to protect ourselves and to protect our international partners.”
The Continuing International Due Diligence (CIDD) Unit will be operationalised by July 31, 2024.