by Linda Straker
- CBI major non-tax revenue earner for Government
- In 2022, inflows have been EC$112 million compared to EC$80 million in 2021
- Conference welcomed industry stakeholders, members of Government, local and international marketing agents
1,058 people have approved citizenship through the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme for January to September 2022, resulting in an income of EC$112 million to the Government. For the same period, 8 people were rejected by the Cabinet.
The programme began in August 2014, and to date, over 7,000 people have received citizenship through the initiative which is the major non-tax revenue earner for the Government. Once citizenship is approved, that person earns the right to a Grenada passport.
Most applications to Grenada come from China, Russia, India, South Africa, and Nigeria, territories known for their millionaires. There are also several applications from people in the USA and Europe.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell delivered the feature address at the 3 November 2022 Investment Migration Round Table Conference, and said that in absolute dollar figures in 2022, the inflows have been EC$112 million compared to EC$80 million in 2021.
He said that for the period under review there has been a 40% increase in revenue earned by the Government of Grenada from CBI for the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. “The National Transformation Fund moved from EC$47.2 million for January to September 2021 to EC$49.5 million for the same period in 2022. If we curate our 2022 capital budget this is about 20% of that budget which clearly is not insignificant by any measure.”
“Additionally, the approved applications for private sector projects will potentially general EC$207 million in investment project funds for the period January to September 2022 compared to EC$161 million for the same period in 2021,” the Prime Minister told the participants, which included local and international marketing agents.
The conference, held at the Radisson Conference Centre, was a collaborative initiative undertaken by Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited and the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Unit. It welcomed industry stakeholders, members of the Government, and guest speakers to share their knowledge, expertise, and experiences to strengthen and sustain Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.
Sad to see Grenada on the auction block !! There are better ways to make money ?????? What is the approval process besides cold cash ?? Publish this so all can see –
Who buys citizenships? Money launderers and criminals changing their name (usually both). Where do all these millions of $$$ go? To the people running the program — the foreign CBI company, corrupt gov’t officials, and shell companies posing as hotel projects. This is how the world sees Grenada now.
It’s also why we have to go to Barbados to get visas, rather than fly direct to Canada or the US.
is,nt it a shame.
So many countries do this now. Including Canada, USA, Many European countries and many others in our world.
At the same time we expect Governments to stop the programme, and still spend money. If anyone knows where in Grenada we are hiding a money press please tell us.
Maybe some bright person knows what to do.
I live in Grenada and I do not know how to get blood from a stone. maybe someone does.
Anyone who lives off of the fat of other countries is not qualified to pontificate.