Thursday, 19th September 2024

Dominica, Malta, St Kitts and Nevis have the best due-diligence process: Financial Times

The Citizenship by Investment Programmes offered by three countries has become an efficient source of acquiring second Citizenship with the due-diligence process.

Sunday, 30th January 2022

The Citizenship by Investment Programmes offered by Dominica, Malta and St Kitts and Nevis have become an efficient source of acquiring second Citizenship with the best due-diligence process. With the due-diligence process, only eligible and reputable investors get Citizenship.  The Financial Times applauded the vigorous due diligence process used by the governments of Dominica, Malta, St Kitts and Nevis. Press Editorials, a Belgium based media group published a detailed article on their website, listing out the major reports that crowned Dominica, Malta, St Kitts and Nevis' rigorous due-diligence process.  While recognizing the significance of streamlined background checks, the government of the countries have adopted incredible steps and continuously making efforts to uplift the programme. The CBI Index published by the PWM Magazine of the Financial times have acknowledged their efforts and underlined that the countries have the best "CBI Programme Due Diligence Process".  By underscoring the efforts made by the countries, CBI-Index-2021, released by the PWM Magazine of Financial Times, asserted that Dominica, Malta and St Kitts and Nevis adopted the changes in the vetting process immediately. As per the Index report, the countries have maintained the due-diligence standards and are working to enhance the virtue of their CBI offering [caption id="attachment_40211" align="aligncenter" width="459"]                               Port Zante- St Kitts and Nevis[/caption] The countries have adopted the Citizenship by Investment Programme to empower their financial status and grow investment. Two such examples, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, have used the CBI income to compensate for the effects of pandemic and natural calamities as the countries have bolstered the programme in the Caribbean.   Moreover, Malta is the third country that has also been aided by the programme, and it further made considerable changes in the due-diligence procedures. To ensure a transparent and thorough vetting process, the government has employed two foreign diligence firms. The firms are offering €15,000 due to diligence fees to investors as compared to the previous charges such as €7500.  While praising the work done by the countries, the CBI Index report accentuated that to ensure transparency and comprehensiveness in the due-diligence process, the governments of Dominica, Malta, St Kitts and Nevis have taken the responsibility towards national and international security.  Moreover, the countries have also gained appreciation in the Smith and Williamson and the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report The Smith and Williamson report commended the Commonwealth of Dominica for its performance in boosting the due-diligence process so that eligible citizens could get the passports of the country.  The Caribbean island, further received appreciations by the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, remarked that" The initiative taken by Dominica has ensured the growth of the programme in the country, which includes a due-diligence framework. It also asserted," Various independent firms specialized in monitoring individuals and firms have conducted the vetting process. The applicants who are aged 16 or above could apply for the programme".   Many agents also said that Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis utilizes the finest due-diligence firms to ensure that no illicit individual is granted Citizenship.  "St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica never accepted the applicants failed in the vetting process to ensure and the streamlining of the programme which is comprehensive in the countries", CBI agents from Dubai appreciated.  While applauding the respective Caribbean islands, another agent also asserted that the strategies of the nations have proved that the countries have worked for their security and safety by granting Citizenship to reputable persons.   Due-diligence  A key component in the CBI programme, Due-Diligence provides streamlined background check procedures and also aided the government to determine the loopholes and risks to the country's Citizenship programmes. The process that is carried out by the efficient third-party due-diligence firms offers security at the national and the international level by providing Citizenship to only honourable investors.  Due Diligence ensures the transparency and effectiveness in the checking process of the individuals and fulfils the commitment with the country as it is a matter of the integrity of the programme. With a sense of responsibility, each government of the countries obtain every information of the investors.     By emphasizing that high-end due Diligence is costly, the CBI Index report suggested," With the accessibility of the immutable know-your-client (KYC) data record on individuals which were stored on the blockchain by financial actors, the industry-wide, federated blockchain be able to facilitate some of the background checks".   In the due-diligence process, the requirement of the certificates and the forms are given below:  The applicant has to present a police certificate in the vetting process. Proof such as the number of nations from which a certificate has been taken, and the data based on the fingerprints or biometrics are also required to show. The government would have also excluded the persons who have failed the process of specific nationality from their programmes or might restrict finds transferred from certain jurisdictions to ensure security on an international basis, as per anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering legislation.  A report from the multinational accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) stated that the CBI programme of Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis does not promote tax out and evasion.  While explaining the programmes in the countries, the report emphasized that the tax duty of the person is not the base for any citizenship; despite this, the tax residence is a concept that creates the degree of personal social-economic relations with a country with the promise of paying the taxes.  So, investors could not directly become the tax residents after obtaining the Citizenship of Dominica by the programme. In order to get the tax residency, the individuals have to exhibit their physical presence and have to ensure that they are a permanent place of dwelling in Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis.   The four primary tests of EY, such as pulling from the OECD Model, Tax Convention on Income, and Capital, could help investors to get the tax residency.