Dominica to establish Independent Due Diligence Unit to strengthen CBI

In a landmark move, Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerrit announced to establish an independent due diligence unit for the citizenship by investment programme in October 2024. The unit will be overseen by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

“One of the major things which will come into effect in, in the first, or next month, October, is the establishment of an independent due diligence unit, which will be under the aegis of the of the FIU,” outlined the Prime Minister during a press conference earlier on Monday evening.  

Prime Minister said the unit will be responsible for reviewing all the files and advising on which applicants will be successful or not based on the due diligence reports, in order to maintain the highest standards of the CBI programme which the country has maintained over the years.

PM Skerrit announced that all the persons who will be working in that unit will be vetted by the Regional Security System to ensure the legitimacy of each individual.  

Notably, the development of this unit comes after Dominica along with its Caribbean counterparts offering CBI signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) to tackle price related challenges related to the programme.   

One of the important aspects of this agreement is the setting up of the establishment of an independent regulatory body that would regulate and oversee the operation of the programmes in the region. 

This significant MoA was signed by Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia and seeks to standardise marketing practices and due diligence standards across all OECS Programmes.  

While talking about the Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme, Dr Skerrit said, “We run a very robust and very transparent CBI program.” 

He said that this programme has helped the country, in times of natural disasters and in terms of ordinary times.  

Dr Roosevelt Skerrit emphasized that since he became the Prime Minister, he took deliberate decision that the CBI funds will never be used for recurrent expenditure because he never wanted to rely on it as the source of recurrent expenditure. “And we decided that those funds will be used for, infrastructure, government investment and also to pay down on expensive debt or national debt. And we've been remaining true to this,” reiterated the Dominican leader.  

However, he noted that after the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria and the economic strains brought by COVID 19, the government had no choice but to allocate some CBI fund towards operational costs.  

PM Skerrit said these funds have been used for significant projects, including the building of homes, disaster relief, small business support, and educational scholarships. 

Additionally, CBI money has contributed to major infrastructure projects such as road construction, hospitals, housing, and Dominica's housing revolution. “Every single person has been touched by the program,” said the PM.  

He also emphasized that as the world is evolving, his government is working with both the regional and international partners in addressing  whatever issues which may arise from time to time. 

PM Roosevelt Skerrit said, “We've been working very closely, for example, with the United States government through the Treasury Department, who came and provided us with the six points that we were able to to implement, and we continue to work with them.” 

While mentioning all these major developments which have come to fruition because of the CBI progamme, the Prime Minister vowed to maintain its highest standards in the migration industry and said, “We will be transparent as always and ensure that this programme continues to reign, to benefit the citizens of Dominica.”