The Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Program in Antigua is under serious pressure and that because there is a scandal involving wanted Indian billionaire, Mehul Choksi.
According to news coming from of India, Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, both diamond tycoons, are alleged to have colluded with two employees of the Punjab National Bank in an over US$1.8-billion fraud scheme.
The businessman is now wanted for alleged fraud in India.
On Tuesday, the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) in Antigua confirmed that Choksi was granted citizenship in November of 2017.
The new scandal has raised many questions about CBI programs in the region and prominent political analysts like Peter Wickham has weighed in on the matter.
He said the scandal involving Indian billionaire Choksi is not good news for Antigua or the CBI.
“For a long time there have been concerns raised with the C.I.P there and in many other countries that offer the program,” he said.
The regional pollster added is not the “thing” anyone wants to happen
Antigua’s Citizenship Investment Union said on Monday that Choksi’s application was subject to robust due diligence international investigation by reputable agencies.
But according to Wickham an individual could have conducted acts before and after citizenship has been granted that were not within the radar of diligence.
Meantime the Antigua and Barbuda cabinet said on Thursday that the citizen of Antigua and Barbuda has not been charged with any crime, neither has any request been made of the Antigua and Barbuda Government for any action to be taken against Choski.
However, the Cabinet has decided that should any request be made by the Indian government, every effort within the law will be made to honour a legitimate request.
Antigua and Barbuda and India do not have an extradition agreement.
Due Diligence is a joke, the folks once upon a time submitted their own police reports.
You are so right. Why spend the money they asks their clients to pay for this. In any case the P.M. can still overrule the findings and tell the CBI unit to give the applicant a passport anyway and who is bold enough to challenge the P.M.?
So what??, Dominica own have been hit by 100s
In the CBS 60 minutes programme on the CBI, it was said that this lax and corrupt program undermines the security apparatus of the USA and its allies. One would have thought that these governments would prevent such crooks and criminals, known to all, wouldn’t be able to have access to the birthright of the regional countries, but these money grabbing, inept leaders in the name of “due diligence” are giving us all a black eye. It was not a secret that there was an investigation of this individual. Look out people, it’s going to become more difficult for Caribbean nationals in the international scheme of things. That’s what “due dilly-dally” will do to you. You know there was a wink and a nod in this corruption
One of these days they are going to give citizenship to the Afghanistan Taliban and ISIS terrorists through CBI since you do not have to go there to get the passport just send the money.
Unfortunately, Dominica had its share, maybe still have, of those kinds of foreigners, who use those passports to run, hide away from justice after they swindle/steal millions upon millions.
Selling of Passports in the Caribbean, should be deemed a criminal offence, since the country and its sacred property of its citizens are being sold to those with money, and money only. They do not even have any patrimony, any love, any knowledge of the country, yet could purchase our passport to travel all about, with agenda in hand?
Many Dominicans do not care what happens with their property, especially collective property: their land, their passports, their rivers, pumice, etc. Selling your soul, your country, to the highest bidder, whether criminal or not, whether fraudster or not? Are you serious?????
You can do all the due diligence you will never be able to predict what will happen. The most you can do is to cooperate with the authorities.
What value added Peter Wickham added to this story? None!
This reminds me of Ali Reza Zibahalat Monfared.The new genre of lazy, myopic, incapable,OECS leaders can’t think of anything else to generate revenue? In Dominica it has raised billions,but one cannot point to one completed project.Has the money been flying to other jurisdictions?
Where The Wicked Rule The People Mourn
This DLP is a Wicked and Evil Party
Any new ideas of how to raise revenue? More importantly how is your party (UWP) going to raise revenue if they get in office. Nonsensical can be uttered by anyone.
The Indian constitution does not allow dual nationality for it citizens, so Mehul Choksi would have automatically lost his Indian citizenship immediately he became a citizen of Antigua & Barbuda. It means that the authorities in Antigua & Barbuda did not check mr. Choksi’s credentials with their counterparts in India for fear of alerting them. All they were interested in was Mr. Choksi’s money ,Perhaps Antigua can pull another fast one by discretely taking payment from the Indian government y and surrender their surrogate citizen to them as a person of interest, similar to how Dominica got rid of its hot potato, Alireza Monfared, to Iran.
UkDominican smarty pants, the allow some not all and they also have “oversease citizenship”
I am familiar with the Overseas Citizenship of India. Whereas some countries may consider it a form of dual citizenship (the U.K. for instance). India itself does not. Persons holding Indian citizenship continue to be subject to art. 9 of the constitution of that country. which states (in short) that : “No person shall be a citizen of India if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state”.
Ok and how is that relevant to the story,,,
They tell you the Pardner have Antiguan Citizenship and he is a Fugitive from India for a boreball he did, you still dere Asif,,,
This story just solidify what Marn has been saying for the longest time: That CBI program is merely a scheme for them Fellows to allow their buddies to circumvent prosecution and escape to some island where they can live forever after on the moneys they bring with them when they come,,,
This is a perfect example of what Marn has been preaching since the CBI program has been publicized: Allyou want to sell to criminals, rights to land that people have birthright to,,,