Anti-money laundering training for St Kitts-Nevis citizenship by investment staff

All members of staff in the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) in St Kitts and Nevis is currently undergoing training in the prevention of financial crime.

The training, which extends to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing preventive measures, began on Wednesday.

The course was initiated by Les Khan, chief executive officer of the CIU, and provided by risk management solutions company Thomson Reuters.

Khan said the constant training and development of the unit’s staff is of paramount importance, and it is his intention to find meaningful ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of St Kitts and Nevis’ Citizenship by Investment programme.

“The Citizenship by Investment Unit is on a journey of continuous improvement,” he said.

“The training that the entire staff has all engaged in this week will strengthen the levels of due diligence that we undertake in ensuring that our programme maintains its platinum standard and ranks amongst the best in the world for authenticity and credibility.”

'CBI programme strengthened by government'

In a press release today, the prime minister's office said that over the last two years the government has "implemented a number of measures geared towards the strengthening of the country’s citizenship programme, with much emphasis placed on the due diligence process".

An expert on the federation, who asked not to be named, told WIC News that this announcement was a thinly veiled nod to the scandal surrounding a Chinese national who was given a St Kitts-Nevis passport in 2013.

Prime Minister Timothy Harris has repeatedly blamed his predecessor Denzil Douglas, though earlier this week WIC News exclusively revealed that Douglas was not informed by police of a fugitive in the country.

Recent measures by the Harris government include the hiring of IPSA International, a regulatory risk mitigation company, to undertake a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s citizenship programme, as well as new management for the CIU and the introduction of a case management system that allows for round-the-clock, real-time monitoring of CBI applications.

The CIU has also contracted additional due diligence providers with specialist knowledge of particular regions, and increased partnerships with governments in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union.

These steps have been praised by a number of international organisations, including the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF commended the Team Unity government for making “significant efforts to strengthen the CBI Programme”.