St Lucia’s citizenship by investment boss ‘sent on leave’

Details still emerging about Cindy McLean

Published 2017-06-22 16:41:41

Updated 2025-09-15 00:03:27

Reports from St Lucia indicate that the head of the nation’s Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) has been sent on administrative leave.

HTS News4orce said it has been “reliably informed” that Cindy McLean, chief executive officer of the (CIU) is now on leave “with immediate effect”.

No further details on this move are available. She has been the agency’s CEO since October 2015.

Last month she gave a conflicting account on CIU policy following the release of a joint statement from Invest St Lucia and and the CIU regarding the Desert Star Holdings project.

Unaware

The statement, and the delay in issuing it, was jumped on the by opposition St Lucia Labour Party, who warned that the two organisations should not “mislead the people”.Speaking in an exclusive with HTS News4orce, McLean said she was “not aware” of the statement, and it was published when she was off-island.

It is strictly against CIU policy to publish or publicly disclose the status of ongoing negotiations with investors, she added.

No timeframe for McLean's leave has been announced.

WIC News has approached the government, CIU and St Lucia Labour Party for comment on the matter.