Source: Loop Caribbean
Former Saint Lucia Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader, Allen Chastanet, has filed an injunction against Investment Minister, Dr Ernest Hilaire, and the Citizenship by Investment Programme’s (CIP) Board, aiming to halt the processing of citizenship applications tied to two controversial development projects until a full judicial review is conducted.
Court documents, filed on February 20, 2025, named Minister Hilaire as the first defendant and the CIP as the second defendant in the case. Chastanet is requesting the court to issue an injunction that would prevent any further approval or processing of citizenship applications linked to investments in the Caribbean Galaxy Real Estate Limited’s (Galaxy) real estate project and the Bemax LLC Rock Hall Housing Development Project.
The injunction would remain in place until the court can conduct a judicial review of the case, which Chastanet claims involves unlawful practices under the CIP.
Chastanet is challenging several aspects of the CIP, particularly the approval of these two projects despite alleged violations of legal investment requirements. According to Chastanet, the investments linked to both projects did not meet the legal criteria, such as full payment of the required investment sums.
Additionally, he claims the government allowed citizenship by investment applications at discounted rates as low as USD 65,000, which is well below the legally mandated minimum of USD 200,000 for real estate investments under the CIP.
Chastanet argues this undermines the integrity of the programme and deprives the state of vital revenues.
In his legal claim, Chastanet also contests the retroactive approval of these projects, which he asserts was done in violation of the law.
He argues that Minister Hilaire lacked the legal authority to approve such projects with retrospective effect, making these decisions ultra vires, or beyond their lawful power.
Furthermore, Chastanet claims that proper legal and procurement procedures, such as the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA) and the Finance (Administration) Act, were not followed, further tainting the legitimacy of the approvals.
Chastanet’s application for a judicial review also speaks to a lack of proper regulations and guidelines for investments under the “Infrastructure Option” of the CIP, which he says created a process that was arbitrary, unlawful, and unreasonable.
With the failure to establish necessary legal frameworks, he argues that the approval process was conducted in a way that undermines transparency and fairness.
Through this injunction and judicial review process, Chastanet is seeking to ensure that no further citizenship by investment applications related to the two developments are processed until the legality of these approvals and the associated practices can be fully examined.