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Caribbean Nations Review Draft Bill for Regional CBI Oversight Body · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Caribbean Five, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Granada, St.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis, and St.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia, have taken a decisive step toward consolidated oversight of their citizenship by investment, or the CBI programs, as Attorneys General examined the first draft of a regulatory bill at a high-level meeting in Anguilla this month.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Attorneys General from Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia, and St.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis gathered at the seventh meeting of Eastern Caribbean Currency Union legal authorities from May 7 to 9, 2025.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: They evaluated proposed legislation through which member states aim to create a dedicated regulatory entity to standardize practices across participating countries.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Legal drafting consultant Lydia Elliott crafted the bill following her January appointment through a competitive selection process.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: She aims to deliver legislation-fulfilling commitments under the March 2024 Memorandum of Agreement, which outlined plans to harmonize and strengthen regional CBI operations.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: St.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis Attorney General Garth Wilken believes this draft legislation culminates, quote, a historic reform effort that began in December 2022, when St.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis took bold, first-in-region steps to reposition the CBI industry for sustainability, credibility, and resilience.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: End quote.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: The regional regulator, he adds, now closes the loop on those reforms as a governance safeguard for economic security and global reputation.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: The initiative builds upon extensive groundwork by the eight-member Interim Regulatory Commission.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: This expert panel includes legal, financial, compliance, and enforcement specialists from the five participating states, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the OECS Commission, and CARICOM Impacts.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Former Dominica diplomat Francine Barron represents her nation on this commission.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Officials have already engaged the public across all five nations between March and April 2025.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: They sought input from governments, opposition parties, civil society organizations, and citizens.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: The ECCB plans to share the draft bill with the public for comment within the next few weeks.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The proposed regional regulator will operate as an independent legal entity, ensuring industry compliance, transparency, and integrity.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Its mandate encompasses issuing regional CBI policies, licensing agents, approving due diligence frameworks, auditing national CBI units, maintaining a public register of licensees, and combating deceptive practices.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: This regulatory framework caps efforts that intensified after a 2023 roundtable between Caribbean leaders and U.S.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Treasury officials.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: That meeting produced six principles for regional CBI programs, including coordinated application denials, mandatory interviews, enhanced checks, regular audits, passport retrieval procedures, and temporary nationality restrictions.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Brown acknowledged the economic realities facing small Caribbean states during those negotiations.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Resistance to U.S.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: proposals, he noted, might trigger financial sanctions.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: All they have to do is issue a sanction stopping us from using the banking system, and then we are in trouble.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: The EU had reportedly also outlined six provisions of its own, and the EU's Commission has not been discreet about its stance regarding CBI, whether it is within its block or outside of it.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: The EU Parliament is advancing legislation that would allow it to suspend visa-free entry into the block if a country operates a CBI program, adding more pressure on the Caribbean states.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Daisy Joseph Andal, partner at Joseph Rowe, has argued that the U.S.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: and EU's demands are akin to moving targets.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: She says the Caribbean states have gone above and beyond to address their concerns, including the previous lack of a regional regulatory body.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Despite these efforts, she still labels the scrutiny unfair.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: The emerging regulatory framework aims to protect both program integrity and economic benefits.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ahmad Abbas on IMIDaily.com.
• 4:42
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• 4:49
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