Francine Baron has been appointed to the Board of the Regional Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Regulatory Commission, known as the Caribbean Interim Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The IRC was established by Caribbean countries offering CBI programs and is seen as a practical step towards forming a regional body to regulate such programs.
It is a key provision in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which was published in March 2024 and was signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Christopher (St Kitts), and Nevis and Saint Lucia.
The IRC’s task is to set standards and regulations for CBI programs in line with international best practices, ensuring compliance and monitoring within the industry.
Those appointed to the IRC, eight in all across the Caribbean, are not directly involved in the administration or promotion of CBI programs and are drawn from diverse fields including law, economics, finance, audit, compliance, and law enforcement.
They are:
-Antigua and Barbuda – Lieutenant Colonel Edward Croft (Deputy Chair)
-Dominica – Francine Baron
-Grenada – Julia Lawrence
-Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – Archdeacon Isaiah Phillip
-Saint Lucia – Evaristus Jn Marie
-CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS)/Joint Regional
Communications Centre (JRCC) – Rufus Ferdinand
-Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission – Henith Gabriel
-Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) – Timothy Antoine (Chair)
They are expected to be a technical working group charged with fully developing the plans for the regional regulator and for its implementation. It will operate until the first Board of the regional regulator is appointed.
The IRC held its first meeting on 24 September 2024.
The regional regulator will be a separate legal entity and will be housed outside of the ECCB. At this stage, it is anticipated that the regional CIP/CBI regulator will be established in the second half of 2025.
Baron served as Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs from 2014 to 2019 and was Dominica’s Attorney General from 2007 to 2010. She was also High Commissioner of Dominica to the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2014. She is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dominica Electricity Services Ltd (DOMLEC) and was Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Resilience Execution Agency (CREAD).
dissident another blue DON. KER,passports CANNOT be sold,citizenship can be sold not passports.The Dominican passport is and will always remain the property of the GOVERNMENT of Dominica.Passport books for Dominica are printed by CBN in Canada,where a record is kept.All books are sent to the immigration dept in Roseau,where they are turned into passports.All passports are issued by the immigration dept in Roseau where a record is kept.A fee has to be paid at the TREASURY in Roseau for EVERY passport application.All monies collected from passport application goes and is paid into the TREASURY.There are 35 CBI agents,the government of Dominica,Roosevelt Skerrit and Anthony Haden are not agents.MMCE the company of which Anthony Haden is CEO is an agent,the main headquarters is in UAE.The government only get a small percentage of the Sale of citizenship and the agent gets the largest share.Only an uneducated jack a will say Skerrit and Anthony Haiden selling passports,that CANNOT happen.
“Thief never like to see thief with long bag.”
This Citizenship By Investment scheme has seen its best days. It is waning badly as it was never sustainable. Time for new and real industries. These governments are lazy, unimaginative and too clueless to use their collective brain power to form novel industries to boost economic wealth.
Give us examples of novel industries to boost economic growth. In this day and age, the banana industries, the bauxite industries, the arrowroot industries, the nutmeg industries will just not do it. Guyana is now the fastest growing economy today because of the oil discovery. Now, a once poor country is building infrastructure all over. Do you think our banana industry can generate revenue to pay for big price tickets like an International Airport, a major Hospital, rebuild our infrastructure? No way Hozey. Can we discover oil in the village you originated from? Both the tourism industry and the CBI program are sustainable and have both done us good and will continue to pay dividends.
So long as the first order of the day being TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY. To ensure the people of Dominica are furnished with information on the number of Passports sold, to whom they were sold, how much (i.e. monies) respective passports sought, how much (i.e. monies) total passports sold sought, and monies location (where it’s kept) – among others?
History will hit us a heavy slap one of these days.
this woman claimed that if de government of Dominica gave information on the number of passports sold to date from CBI that an act like this would do damage to Dominica’s security.
Skerrit using dis woman…..like he does other people…….just recycle
We are still waiting for you Francine to tell the woman who gave you the ten thousand dollars United States currency to assist victims of the hurricane almost ten years ago.
It is time for you to disclose what you and Roosevelt Skerrit did with the donors money!
Isn’t better to live with a clean name than to be viewed as a dishonest person one who should not be trusted?
What have done with the people’s money?
Francine should be arrested for engaging. A person who claims to have a law degree and cannot understand “You cannot do this here” “do not do this here” on US soil and on a university compound. For you all to be on a person.
Tell Vince ‘you must.sicceed in this” is a falsehood he knows better.
The JOKE on you all the group today. I will say all your mouths have been run through already and I do not care about trying to figure who you all are.
Hopefully you all will learn the hard lesson at some point. You are all coming into view Thank God.
The RAT guarding the 🧀
Okay, so the foxes are being appointed to protect the chicken eggs, nice one! Anyone else need the robbers to guard the bank?
These countries in the sub-region should be uncomfortable to rely almost exclusively on the sale of passports for their economic survival. Ridiculous!
Why can’t we use our god given intellect, acuity and creativity to invent and develop industries and entrepreneurship that would create sufficient wealth to sustain a healthy and vibrant economy.
These are extractive governments that tax the working poor into perennial poverty and use most of the money to enrich themselves.
Although each of these governments has procured billions of dollars from the CBI schemes, , their countries are plagued by massive indebtedness, crumbling infrastructure, underwhelming healthcare and education systems, abject poverty and skeletal social services. Where have all these $billions gone?
The foolishness these people engage in is bordering on criminality.
These people do not belong in any organizations. This is an individual who was out there doing all sorts.
hopefully that day will come when others will see them for what they are.
I cannot wait doe that day when for the FIRST time for us to be SANCTIONED by the international community.
All these years they did nothing and the same people are moving back and forth and cycling and recycling through or in positions.
Hopefully that day you all will be caught and you all will be seen for what you all are and eventually pay the price.
Hopefully you will be able to talk to say what you all were doing all along.
The Caribbean Interim Regulatory Commission (IRC) is a good move by the participating Caribbean governments. Amb. Baron is also an excellent choice made by Dominica.
May the Commission succeed!
HOW LONG MUST WE THE CITIZENS OF DOMINICA TAKE CARE OF YOU MISS BARON. WHAT ARE YOU ACHIEVEMNTS AT CREED IN TERMS OF PROJECTS COMPLETED YOU SAT THERE DOING NOTHING FOR YEARS RECEIVING A SALARY .CREED IS NOW CLOSED SO I GUESS WE MUST BREAST FEED YOU AGAIN AND CREATE ANOTHER BIG JOB FOR YOU. WHERE WAS THIS POSTION WHILE YOU WERE AT CREED ,WAS THE POSITION ADVERTISED. CONGRATS ON YOUR LEGACY OF BREASTFEEDING .