Caribbean countries take due diligence procedures very seriously: Eddy Leviten of FACT Worldwide

Professional Wealth Management's (PWM) Financial Times Studio organized a panel discussion on the due-diligence procedure followed by countries offering citizenship by investment programmes.

Monday, 18th April 2022

Caribbean countries take due diligence procedures very seriously: Eddy Leviten of FACT Worldwide

Professional Wealth Management's (PWM) Financial Times Studio organized a panel discussion on the due-diligence procedure, which holds utmost importance in the Citizenship by Investment Programme process. During the panel discussion, the host – Yuri Bender, Editor in Chief Financial Journalist at FT's PWM Magazine, was joined by the representatives of three major due diligence investigation agencies – EXIGER, FACT, and S-RM. The guests of this panel discussion were –Director of strategies and development at Exiger - Karen Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of FACT Worldwide – Eddy Leviten, and CEO of SRM – Heyrick Bond Gunning. The main highlight of the discussion was the due diligence procedure, which examines how migration hubs can verify the credentials of the families who apply in the Citizenship by Investment Programmes. FACT Worldwide's Eddy Leviten stated that Citizenship by Investment is an easy option for people who are looking for a safe haven for their families and looking for opportunities to develop their businesses interests.

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He further stated that the due diligence agencies performed multi-layered checks and do not rely on the preliminary information provided by any of the sources. A strict and rigid procedure is followed so that only deserving applicants receive the host country's citizenship. He also asserted that the details of the applicants are closely checked by more than a single expert, and criminal records from all over the world are also scrutinized. Leviten also shared that some level of scrutiny is carried out across all applicants. The agency looks at the relationships chart of the applicant as well.

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The Chief Operating Officer further said that FACT worldwide provides a high level of due diligence and underlined that some of the countries also adopt two due diligence firms for cross-referencing. FACT Worldwide representative stated, "We are talking about the level of checks that are carried out. Certainly, we are finding out that now the main countries providing these games have a very high level of due diligence and surely all the clients that we have offered a very high level of due diligence. Some of the countries even use two firms of due diligence for cross-checking." "We only hand over the reports to the host countries, and then it is totally on the client, whether they can attain citizenship or not on the back of that report. We don't make the final decision," he asserted.

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Host Yuri Bender further asked about the present due diligence standards in place in the Caribbean CBI jurisdictions. "The checks being carried out now are stringent as the work we have carried out on behalf of the clients and in other territories," the Chief Operating Officer stated. The host further questioned the application process for a premier fee offered by some countries providing a fast track. "These exhilarated fast track programmes are the same stringent as the normal due-diligence process?" he asked. Giving a reply, Leviten asserted that it is all time-saving, how much information we have given them to verify and how much we can verify actually in a country and through the other top sources. He added, "There is so much time you can squeeze into producing a report. When you read a report, it's like meeting the person, containing every minor detail of that individual, such as their business interest, so yes, we can expertise reports, but we can't squeeze them so that the quality suffers".

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Eddy Leviten has been working in the field of creative industries, retail, enforcement and policy for around 30 years. He also works to develop and manage all aspects of FACT's business. Besides this, he is a Political and Communications professional with experience in creating and delivering campaigns. Before becoming an essential member of FACT, Eddy worked as the Associate Member of the Investment Migration Council. Karen Kelly, Director of the strategies and development at Exiger, informed about the importance of the due-diligence procedure and stated that really depth information is required when a country provides second citizenship to any applicant. The information such as who they are, from where they are, and where the funds are coming from is gathered to know about the applicant's background.

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She said it is important to engage a third party expert to check these applicants in an in-depth manner, like document verification, checking who they are by looking at the things like birth and marriage certificates, education – and business qualifications. Criminal background, source of wealth and reputation is also closely checked. The director of Exiger added that she is afraid that the nations that do not talk about due diligence are doing very little, but the programmes in others, such as Caribbean countries, are not only meeting the minimum standards but also carrying out different levels of due-diligence process in a very effective manner, with the assistance of the regional and national law enforcement. She further lauded the Caribbean CBI Programmes and mentioned that "indeed a great step" in this process is KYC (Know Your Customer). Kelly has ten (10) years of experience in due diligence and Citizenship & Residency by Investment (CRBI). She also manages due diligence services and the development of specialized due diligence training programs. During her working years, she has been awarded four awards – Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Investment Migration Council Member (IMCM), and Project Management Institute (PMI). The third guest of the discussion, Heyrick Bond Gunning, the CEO of SR-M, highlighted the common red flags that he has seen during the due diligence process. He responded that one of the major red flags is when the client lies about the working sector. He mentioned, "One of the major red flags is when the individual doesn't work in the sector from which they derived the major source of wealth. There are a variety of issues that we see that we flag to our clients (host countries)." CEO of SR-M Heyrick Bond Gunning further added that the procedure of background checks had been tightened in the past few years. Gunning further underlined the effect of the global pandemic – COVID-19 on the due diligence procedure and the CBI industry. He said that the pandemic did put some pressure on the units, but they worked as efficiently as they could and ensured that the process in terms of applicants presenting themselves. Heyrick Bond Gunning, Chief Executive Officer of SR-M, focuses on setting the strategic direction for the business. Before joining the organization, he was the Managing Director at Kroll and Head of Client Engagement for Acuris. He was behind the DHL's operations in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War. At starting of his career, he served in the British Army for five years. Due diligence is one of the important processes followed during the procedure of attaining Citizenship by Investment of the providing countries. According to various CBI Programme experts, countries of the Caribbean Region have been providing the world's best, securest and safest Programme across the world because of their rigid and stringent due-diligence process. The authorities ensure a safe as well as a secure environment for the applicants. The due diligence procedure followed by these countries follows all international standards and is a transparent procedure.