Saint Lucians should be deeply concerned regarding the recent revelations made by an Enhanced Due Diligence and Financial Crime Consultant about Saint Lucia’s purported violation of American sanctions on Russia. The consultant’s report accuses Saint Lucia of circumventing U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by continuing to process Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) applications for Russian nationals, despite a formal ban issued in March 2022.
According to the allegations, the U.S. State Department instructed all five East Caribbean states with CBI programs, including Saint Lucia, to cease processing Russian applications and to halt any financial transactions related to these applications through New York banks’ correspondent accounts. Saint Lucia reportedly agreed to comply with these sanctions.
However, it is claimed that high ranking figures involved with Saint Lucia’s CIP, driven by financial gain, continued to process Russian applications internally, bypassing the sanctions and without notifying the U.S. State Department. A particularly concerning piece of evidence includes a copy of a check for fees from a Russian applicant, processed through Saint Lucia’s correspondent account at BNY Mellon. This would represent a clear violation of both the imposed sanctions and the internal CIP ban.
Of particular note is the allegation of a USD$200,000 bribe paid by a post-sanctions Russian applicant to ensure their application was processed. This bribe was allegedly split between a prominent individual within the CIP and a senior government official, facilitated by a courier from Antigua.
Saint Lucians should be gravely concerned about these accusations, especially given the potential ramifications for Saint Lucia’s international standing and the integrity of our CBI program. I await with baited breath the excuses which will be manufactured by the Government’s newly engaged multi million dollar UK PR Consultants #PierrePasBon#CIPScandal#WTF#StLucia
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