GRENADA MAKES A PRINCIPAL CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT VENDOR A SPECIAL DIPLOMAT; WHY?

 

In our coverage of  Chinese consultancies found to be selling economic citizenships at illegally-discounted prices, we have previously detailed the involvement of CHINA HENG SHENG (SINGAPORE) DEVELOPMENT PTE. LIMITED, which continues to process applications for Grenada CBI/CIP citizenships, notwithstanding an industry-wide ban on such transactions. During our further inquiry into Heng Sheng, which often appears as HS, we have learned that the CEO of the company, YUANFA LI, was appointed the Grenadian Ambassador to Singapore. His bilingual business card appears above and below.

We note that the ostensible "Embassy" address in Singapore is within an accommodation office building, where one can maintain a minimal presence, without actually being in residence. In many cases, such as this, the hyphenated suite number generally indicates that it is little more than a post office box, where a group operator will answer the telephone and collect mail for forwarding. The fact that the email address is in Gmail, rather than a special Grenadian government domain, is another red flag,  indicia that the appointment was not for a functioning diplomat but merely a title to be flashed at the appropriate time and place for maximum effect with clients. 

He obviously does not reside there on a full-time basis. We have previously detailed in other articles the requirements of the Vienna Convention regarding who is regarded as a bona fide diplomats, and we will leave that legal determination to the United Nations, but there is a more ominous aspect to this diplomatic appointment; according to Li's business card, he is an AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY. a rare diplomatic rank generally accorded only to diplomats accredited to the United Nations, or some other major international organization.

Why is this important?  the Plenipotentiary designation, which can only be granted by a Head of State, which in this case would be Grenada's Prime Minister,  DICKSON MITCHELL, gives Li  the full power of independent action, meaning he can enter into treaties and agreements, which will fully bind Grenada. Remember, he is a Chinese national, although he most certainly has one of those Grenada CBI citizenships. His rank affords him decision-making ability about Grenadian affairs generally only available to Native-born citizens who are senior Cabinet-level or above. the word "Extraordinary" in his title is spot on.

Now we get to what is most likely the underlying reason. Let's take a trip backwards in time, to the advent of CBI, to the first Caribbean country to create economic citizenships back in 1984. it was WILLIAM  ( BILLY) HERBERT, JR., the Foreign Minister of newly-independent Saint Christopher & Nevis, usually called Saint Kitts,  who created CBI, held also the UN, US and OAS ambassadorship portfolios, and was also designated Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. This frankly made him untouchable as a potential criminal defendant in the United States, for the political firestorm that would have ensued, had he ever been indicted in the US, would have been fierce, especially during the Grenada invasion aftermath. 

Yuanfa Li and Grenada PM Dickson Mitchell

Why would this be a concern to US law enforcement? You see, attorney Billy Herbert was both a money launderer for drug traffickers and a facilitator of terrorist financing; I know that because I worked with him, but the US simply could never indict him, his sins notwithstanding. The only thing the United States could do is cause his US ambassadorship status to be disapproved.

Given that there has already been public evidence that HS is engaged in illegal discounted sales of Grenada citizenships, and that the deposit of the proceeds of such criminal acts into American correspondent bank accounts of US Dollars has occurred, it occurs to us that an contemplated criminal prosecution of Grenada's Ambassador to Singapore may be problematic. Does he possess a literal Get-out-of-Jail-Free Card? That question is on my mind, and the Department of Justice may have to weigh in on it, as the CBI discounting scandal spreads throughout the region, right towards Grenada.