Chastanet Warns Of Possible Visa-Free Fallout Over CIP

Opposition leader Allen Chastanet, citing security and transparency concerns regarding Saint Lucia’s Citizenship By Investment Programme (CIP), has declared that they could impact this country’s visa-free access to the United Kingdom and Europe. The United Workers Party (UWP) leader’s remarks came in a press release  from his office which appears below: The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday issued a press release that the Prime Minister has gone to Brussels to meet with the European Union to discuss the Citizenship By Investment Programme. The Opposition has been reliably informed that in fact Mr. Pierre was summoned due to serious concerns about the operation of this Programme. We, as a party have been sounding the alarm for almost two years since Government and the Prime Minister in particular, changed the rules governing the Economic Fund to allow Cabinet to use the CIP monies freely and due to their damning decision to continue accepting Russian and Iranian applications at the commencement of the Ukraine war in spite of international concerns. In addition, the Government’s refusal to commit to the OECS joint protocols and the recent addition of an infrastructural option have collectively undermined confidence in our program. This raises serious security and transparency concerns...