Prime Minister Drew addresses CBI critics;promises justice for citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis
Nov. 20, 2024 – In a Special Interview today, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew confirmed the Government’s commitment to diversifying the economy to reduce reliance on the nation’s Citizenship by Investment programme while continuing to improve it and holding accountable those who may have abused that programme in the past.
Dr. Drew emphasizes that any suggestion that his administration is blind, or even insensitive, to past issues with the CBI program is false. The Prime Minister assures the citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis that the wheels of justice are turning, stating “we do not make grandiose pronouncements or broadcast highly produced videos as some do. Instead, we will take the legal actions that justice demands, but we will do so with actual proof while affording everyone due process.”
Prime Minister Drew’s statements came in response to public commentary from Phillipe Martinez, a foreign national who has alleged wrongdoing in in both Saint Kitts and Nevis’s and Saint Lucia’s CBI programmes to further a lawsuit in the United States in which he hopes to collect exorbitant amounts for his own personal gain.
In that lawsuit, Martinez, a French film producer who heads MSR Media, alleges that public officials have ignored years of wrongdoing in the CBI programme, raising claims about deals that were brokered during the previous administration. Martinez has accused other CBI participants of underselling citizenships, suggesting that practice has hampered his ability to sell CBI shares his companies have received based on his dealings with the administration of former Prime Minister Timothy Harris. In that lawsuit, Martinez and his companies seek $450,000,000 from the named defendants. The Federation is not even a party to that lawsuit.
Neverthless, Dr. Drew shared this morning that individuals purporting to represent the interests of Martinez and his MSR companies approached the Drew Administration and requested at least US $40 million as a settlement. Dr. Drew made clear that he would never bow to pressure from questionable actors or consider such desperate attempts to reach public funds at the expense of the people.
Dr. Drew outlined the important steps the government has already taken to address challenges with the CBI programme, which he inherited from the previous administration.
As to Martinez, Dr. Drew addressed the results of government due diligence regarding the background and suitability of Martinez’s involvement with the CBI program. Dr. Drew explained that Martinez and his MSR Companies first were approved for participation under the Harris administration. But after learning disturbing details—including that Martinez served prison time for a felony fraud conviction in France—Dr. Drew committed that the government would take appropriate actions concerning the MSR Companies.
And as to the allegations of historical problems with underselling of citizenships, Dr. Drew noted that his administration has been proactive since taking office, leading regional efforts to develop and enact reforms to strengthen the integrity of CBI programmes, which remain a critical source of revenue for some Caribbean nations. Those reforms include criminal penalties for underselling citizenships. Until the Drew Administration, such underselling was not a crime. Dr. Drew highlighted the absurdity of suggesting that the very administration that ushered in this new era of criminal accountability would be involved in or turn a blind eye to unlawful underselling.
Dr. Drew explained that the Director of Public Prosecutions, through the appointment of a Special Prosecutor, would investigate the CBI Program and hold wrongdoers accountable while still ensuring that such actions remain consistent with due process.
Finally, Dr. Drew underscored his commitment to pursuing, through both political and legal means, the benefits the government is due and that the citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis deserve from the country’s CBI Programme.
