ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the several countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) governments are examining the possibility of developing standardised legislation regarding the controversial Citizenship by Investment programme (CBI).

Skerrit, speaking to reporters prior to his departure for the United States on personal business, said countries that have already established CBIs in the sub region are holding discussions on the initiative.

“The discussions that is taking place with regards to countries which have CBI programmes is to look at the possibility of having standardised regulations, legislation dealing with the CBI programme to ensure that all of the structures that are required to enhance the programmes are also standardised,” he said.

Apart from Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia and St Kitts-Nevis have all instituted CBI programes through which foreign investors are granted citizenship in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the countries.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has in the past strenuously spoken out against the programme once describing it as a “race to the bottom”.

“The five other independent countries of the OECS have gone that way. I wish them well. We just simply have a different perspective on it, because, in one jurisdiction, which has been in the forefront, a lot of problems occurring,” he said, adding “you have population of 50,000 and you have 12,000 economic citizens”.

In May last year, Gonsalves told a private sector forum that the space is narrowing for economic citizenship programmes, adding, “and there is a race to the bottom in all of them and there are a lot of good products in this area in other countries where people from China and the Middle East are rushing to — Austria, Portugal, but, of course, they have different type of — better run regimes for these types of things.

The United States and several European countries have in the post condemned the CBI’s in the sub-region, saying that it provides an opportunity for criminal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion.

Skerrit told reporters the OECS leaders would be meeting “very soon” to discuss the initiative and “put the framework in place to achieving this.

“Some work has in fact been done already. The idea now is to meet to take the …decisions and to set a timetable towards achieving this. So the idea is St Kitts-Nevis, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Grenada…for all of us to have the same regulations and similar legislation dealing with CBI programmes.

“It is the view of Dominica that all of those countries have very robust due diligence processes in place, but I do believe one of the ways to enhance the programmes and the integrity of the programmes is to have the standardise regulations and structures in place and which Dominica fully supports,’ Skerrit added.