WAS IT NEPOTISM OR CORRUPTION, AT SAINT LUCIA CIP, THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF THOUSANDS OF FRAUDULENT PASSPORTS?

Philicia Pierre

During our recent investigation of the Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment (CBI/CIP) program, we have learned that corruption might not be the only reason that thousands of passports were issued to Chinese nationals who used fraudulent and bogus identification cards, with the knowledge and consent of the vendor, CARIBBEAN GALAXY REAL ESTATE LIMITED. The ugly taint of nepotism may have further stained the application process. It seems that the PHILICIA PIERRE. who is the daughter of the country's Prime Minister, PHILIP PIERRE, just happens to be employed there as a Risk Profiler at the CIP.

A Risk Profiler at any government agency that investigates, and approves, Economic Citizenship applications must be a highly experienced individual, because of the heavy responsibility which that individual must carry. He or she is usually a former compliance officer at a local financial institution, with decades of frontline experience in risk assessment, in addition to being competent to perform enhanced due diligence on applicants, having learned that skill set through both education, training and experience on the job.

We have received information that all the duties and responsibilities of Risk Profilers at the CIP are being discharged by other staff members at the CIP, and also that she is reportedly receiving a salary from Caribbean Galaxy at the same time she has been on the payroll at the CIP. We asked Ms. Pierre twice to comment on these statements, but she has never responded to our inquiries. 

We are unable to find any record of such academic or vocational training or experience in Risk Management for Miss Pierre, either in Saint Lucia or abroad. Given the fact that several Chinese nationals, possessing Caribbean CBI passports issued by the CIP, with aliases, through applications submitted by Caribbean Galaxy, have been found to have engaged in a wide variety of financial crimes, especially money laundering, around the world, and been arrested for those crimes, carrying those same passports, we wonder whether her inexperience was a factor. Alternatively, was she instructed by her father, the PM, to pass and approve all such applications for citizenship, notwithstanding that they were based upon completely bogus identification, which were obviously fraudulent?  Did she "rubber stamp" those Galaxy applications on the orders of her father, the Prime Minister?

We call for an independent audit and investigation of the Saint Lucia CIP, and for each and every application processed for Caribbean Galaxy to be examined, and if found to be fraudulent, revoked and cancelled forthwith, as void ab initio, from the date of their issuance.