Dominica opposition again spreads false propaganda to tarnish national image

The opposition party in Dominica continues to make efforts that negatively impact the country's national image. Over the years, they have consistently launched campaigns filled with misinformation, aimed at discrediting the government's initiatives and achievements.  

Experts believe that the Dominica opposition’s aggression towards the political party leading the country has always resulted in the tarnation of Dominica’s image on international platforms, causing trouble for common people. 

According to the regional news platform 'Springfield', a new piece of propaganda claims that American banks have started rejecting transactions related to the CBI programs. Notably, there have been no official statements from the banks or official spokespersons confirming the allegations. 

While, the Citizenship by Investment Program (CBI) remains a major source of revenue, not only for Dominica but for 4 other Caribbean islands, this type of misinformation leads to a trouble for all.  

Over the years, CBI jurisdictions such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis have always been stringent with their due diligence procedures. The process includes a deep look into the financial sources of the applicant to ascertain a legitimate source of funds.  

As per informational available in the public domain, intermediary banks that manage the money for Caribbean islands are monitored thoroughly. This includes investments related to the CBI Programme, or otherwise. If the banks suspect of a misconduct or doubt in the transaction, it is not sent ahead and sometimes also reversed to the source account.  

It is to be noted that if any applicant is found to have a questionable source of funds, he/she is flagged by the robust due diligence agencies which are based in the United Kingdom, United States and Europe.  

Furthermore, the due diligence includes on-ground and off ground checks including interview session with each applicant and their dependants aged 16 and above. The individual is then questioned and if they fail to give a legitimate answer, then their eligibility to acquire a citizenship becomes low.  

With all these stringent practices in place, it becomes almost unthinkable that the integrity of these programmes can be questioned.  

According to Springfield, it becomes necessary to highlight that Caribbean based banks also maintain robust measures to ensure the legitimacy of financial transactions, especially those which involves the Citizenship by Investment Programmes.  

The website also mentioned that the Eastern Caribbean Bank and especially the Governor of the Bank, has been playing a significant role in working with the CBI legislations to provide direction making sure that the bank compliance is properly dealt with.  

Moreover, a regional banking official has also said that it is standard practice for all the banks across the Caribbean to carry out thorough due diligence and vetting of all payments. He said that it is a common practice to properly check the source of funds, signalling that such measures are implemented on a routine basis.  

This also demonstrates that the propaganda being carried at present across the region is fuelled by political motives rather than the facts, showing opposition’s direct role in spreading this falsified information.  

In another significant development, a renowned Caribbean banked has also confirmed that the rigor of the baking sector’s procedures by saying that at time, the bank needs additional documentations for a transaction to pass through for authorization and to fulfil Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. He verified that this remains a standard procedure, whether one individual is sending money from Kenya to France or anywhere across the globe.  

Another important point which was highlighted by the Springfield was how money enters the Caribbean, to which the website reported that the CBI related to any such monetary trail is monitored by an intermediary bank. 

It was said that any money which enters the region, passes through an intermediary bank in the US and these banks are sometimes based in various states such as Washington, New York or anywhere else in the world. The final aim is to track every transaction which goes into the region, any transaction which seems illegitimate to be placed on hold and sometimes even sent back to the source, until thoroughly satisfied.