Minister for Investment Dr. Ernest Hilaire has refuted claims by the opposition that scandal exists in the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
Hilaire, who was the guest speaker at the Chamber of Commerce’s executive luncheon on Monday, spoke on issues surrounding the CIP, as well as the way forward for it.
He also responded to Philippe Martinez, Head of MSR Media, who filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit against several individuals earlier this year, including former Saint Kitts & Nevis Prime Ministers Timothy Harris and Denzil Douglas, Caribbean Galaxy Real Estate Limited, and CEO of Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Unit Mc Claude Emmanuel.
MSR, in a report, claimed to possess documentary evidence including audio recordings that substantiates its allegations of corruption and unfair practice in Saint Lucia’s CIP Unit.
“You would have heard the severe criticism from the Opposition for Saint Lucia not signing the MOA, the persistent showboating of Philippe Martinez and his filing of a RICO case, the opposition joining him and claiming that there is a CIP Scandal, that over US$1b is missing, that we are facilitating underpricing by Galaxy, and that I will soon be added to the RICO filing,” Hilaire said.
He added, “Despite what you hear repeatedly from the opposition and Martinez, we have a proud record of managing our CIP. We have implemented every recommendation from international partners – the US, EU and UK. We have not been cited for any failing or operational deficiency and no other country can say the same.”
The Minister said that the only recommendation which was outstanding “will soon be addressed and shortly we will announce the name of the international firm which will undertake the audit of the operations of the Unit.”
He said the opposition “missed a golden opportunity” to show national responsibility when they criticized government for not signing a Memorandum of Agreement which was signed by other CIP countries immediately.
“This is a highly competitive industry and whereas we may disagree on approaches we should never show national disunity on fundamental issues especially when the disagreement is not based on facts but rather political convenience. Such political opportunism was further manifested in the Martinez RICO case, as Martinez admitted that he was getting information from the Opposition,” Hilaire said.
Allen Chastanet, at the Chamber’s luncheon accused Ernest Hilaire of making the meeting political, and yesterday, in a livestream on Facebook, called him out for his remarks.
“Government and ministers go to extreme lengths to try to convince us that Martinez is a fraudster and that these are private sector people working with each other and we should not take all that stuff into account. That’s your argument?” Allen Chastanet asked the minister.
Meanwhile, at the Chamber’s luncheon, the minister said that the opposition must be careful on how it speaks of CIP scandals.
“We believe that we must always act in a manner that puts Saint Lucia and Saint Lucians first. We want our country’s reputation to be that of a jurisdiction that has respect for its laws and the privacy of commercial agreements. We want a reputation of a country that is a prime jurisdiction for investment and that the decisions of governments are honoured. It is why in every instance when we disagreed with a decision of the last government, we stated why and offered alternative approaches,” he said, adding that “when in government, we respectfully and privately held discussions with relevant investors to express our positions and seek alignment with our philosophical and developmental approach.”