Office of Premier Brantley issues statement on matter involving Russian national

The office of premier of Nevis Island, Mark Brantley has issued a statement regarding an article published in The Guardian newspaper on May 24, 2019 under a byline by Juliette Garside makes reference to Premier Mark Brantley and seeks to suggest that Brantley was somehow involved in a matter involving one Andrei Pavlov, a Russian national.

The Office of the Premier place on record that through an intermediary, an inquiry was made to the law firm, Daniel Brantley, co- founded by Mr Brantley in 1997. Other than seeking information, Mr Pavlov is not and has never been a client of the law firm. This was made clear to Ms Garside in a telephone interview with Premier Brantley on Wednesday 22nd May, 2019.

It further states that the Honourable Premier does not know and has never met Mr Pavlov and has therefore had no association or contact with him. This too was made clear to Ms. Garside in a telephone interview with Premier Brantley on Wednesday 22nd May, 2019.

"Mr Pavlov is not and has never been a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis. Ms Garside was so advised in a telephone interview with Premier Brantley on Wednesday 22nd May, 2019," claims official statement.

"The article does not and cannot offer any evidence to the contrary. It however seeks to discredit by innuendos. Its basic implied premise and the complaint to the European Union by MEP's Ana Gomes and Marietje Schaake, is that the referenced request for information on a legitimate citizenship program and that Mr Pavlov might have managed to "enter the EU over 70 times" are somehow linked to St. Kitts and Nevis. This is completely and utterly false as Mr Pavlov does not hold and has never held a passport from St Kitts and Nevis. His purported entries into the EU therefore have absolutely no connection with St Kitts and Nevis."

"The record must reflect that St Kitts and Nevis elected a new Government in February 2015. That new Government undertook a comprehensive review and overhaul of the country's citizenship programme in 2015. St. Kitts and Nevis now has the most stringent due diligence requirements in the world. All incidents cited by the article are pre-2015. Again, this was made clear to Ms Garside in a telephone interview with Premier Brantley on Wednesday 22nd May, 2019."

"As a small developing country, St Kitts and Nevis values greatly the excellent relationship it has with the European Union and will continue at all times to be a stable, reliable and trustworthy international partner," it added.