By Caribbean News Global contributor
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – Of the existing Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes in the Caribbean region, the government of Grenada and its CBI unwavering approach to reliable due diligence is facilitated by the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) at straightforward processing of applicants. “Grenada is doing a good job,” affirmed, US ambassador to the OECS, Linda Taglialatela, last month.
“Grenada is using it more than some of the others. We have working arrangements with the five islands in the eastern Caribbean which have an arrangement for due diligence through the JRCC. Once they get to the JRCC, it has available to them agencies like Interpol and all the other groups that have information on individuals,” ambassador Taglialatela explained. “So, they run all the names through the computer to see if any of them are on the wanted list or identified as people who have done things that are questionable. We then report back to each country what the JRCC has on them. The countries will then decide whether to reject or accept the applicant,” said ambassador Taglialatela.
CARICOM IMPACS-Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) is one of two Sub-Agencies of CARICOM IMPACS, the other being the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC).
The JRCC is mainly responsible for the operations and management of the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) which screens approximately 40 million passengers annually, specifically those entering, and travelling within the CARICOM region by air and sea ports.
RIFC is a sub-agency in Trinidad and provides support to Member States in intelligence gathering, sharing and analysis.
Ambassador Taglialatela praise for Grenada’s CBI due process is a remarkable endorsement, at a time when citizenship investors are making Grenada the number one choice in the Caribbean. Similar, the commendation for the JRCC is seldom referenced about the Caribbean CBI programme.
Together, these are excellent endorsements towards the current thrust for Grenada’s citizenship by investment, and validation that the due diligence process, agents and developers who are involved in the CBI programme are succeeding in the approved manner.
In circumstances of divergence to suggesting alternatives, creative means of abuse and schemes leapfrog processes. The unpleasant image conveyed are cancellation of passports, the investigation into ostensibly Illegal discounting of investment amount for CBI application, and multiple incomplete CBI projects that blemish the landscape of participating islands. Thus leading authorities to review the programme and/or overhaul systems.
Grenada’s CBI program is considered one of the best globally in terms of affordability and the opportunity of visa-free access to more than 140 jurisdictions around the world. Grenada’s CBI/ E-2 visa programme affords global mobility, investment returns, the opportunity to facilitate domestic economic development with the unique opportunity to live in the US, CARICOM and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries.
Last month the government of Grenada announced a 25 percent increase in successful citizenship applications in the first half of this year, with more than 500 granted between January to June. The statement attributed the increase largely to the popularity of Range Developments’ Six Senses La Sagesse project.
Grenada continues to lead with relatively straightforward CBI options and JRCC due diligence procedures.
