The highly-anticipated Annual Report of the Citizenship by Investment Programme for the year 2022-2023 was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, almost a year after it was due. Investment Minister Dr Ernest Hilaire attributed the lateness to various factors not explicitly mentioned in the report.
The report was prepared by an independent auditing firm and features statements of revenue, expenditure and the total number of applications processed for the financial year.
A hot button issue was whether or not the audit would reveal fraudulent transactions between staff of the CIP and CIP-backed agents, as alleged by Philippe Martinez, himself a CIP agent based in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
According to Dr Hilaire’s report, “No individual, employee or person of the unit can ever influence the approval granted by these agencies. No one. The statements made by Martinez, Rijok and the UWP that the Prime Minister’s daughter has any influence on this process is completely false.”
The Minister went further to explain that the due diligence processes of the CIP are authenticated by CARICOM’s regional security apparatus as well as analysts in the United States and United Kingdom.
“The unit undertakes a rigorous due diligence process in relation to each applicant with reputable due diligence firms from the United States of America and the United Kingdom, who review the applications and the applicants and their background shared by all five Caribbean CBI programs. The GRCC is a sub-agency of the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security,” he said.
The 2022-2023 Report also shows:
1. 85% increase in applications received, from 583 to 1076.
2. 25% increase in applications granted, from 435 to 544.
3. $35.58 million or 94% increase in total assets in comparison to 2022.
4. Growth in shareholders’ equity to $37.7 million or 44% versus prior ending March 2022.
5. 12% growth in revenue from $54.2 million to $60.6 million.
6. 40% increase in staff, bolstering the capacity of the Due Diligence, Verification and Accounts departments.
The 2023-2024 report is expected to be tabled before this year ends.
