WHAT EFFECT WILL THE NEW GLOBAL RUSSIAN SANCTIONS HAVE ON THE CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF CBI PROGRAMMES OF THE 5 EAST CARIBBEAN STATES ?

 

The global reaction to the diabolical Russian invasion of the Ukraine has now extended to the four corners of the earth; the Oligarchs who support Vladimir Putin's dictatorial and evil government are finding that all the places where they have placed their ill-gotten gains are no longer safe from angry government seizure and forfeiture, based upon what amount to universal sanctions being rapidly imposed. The Russian Oligarchs are finally being treated like the criminals they truly are. 

Not only are bank accounts being frozen, and luxury yachts and business jets being confiscated, other assets, such as CBI passports are being revoked and cancelled. The widespread abuse of such economic passports by the Oligarchs, and their families and associates, heretofore not widely known, seems to have generated substantial negative feelings about CBI passport programmers in general. 

Given that the sale of CBI passports to transnational white-collar criminals, Iranians, North Koreans, fraudsters and terrorist financiers, by St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia & Grenada, has already placed those EC states on high-risk status, it may be that their use by the Oligarchs, now global pariahs because of the Ukraine invasion, will be enough to generate a serious international response, targeting the only thing that the CBI passports are purchased for: visa-free entry into Europe.

Will EU pushback, due to targeting of the Oligarchs, result in denying CBI passport holders that prized entry ability ? If this occurs, the CBI industry will grind to a halt, for lack of clients. We call that the Law of Unintended Consequences, but in this case, the unintended result is clearly beneficial, if it happens. Stranger things have happened when governments respond to a crisis.

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