The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Timothy Harris is allegedly involved in a multi-million dollar CIP scam. A Dubai press report revealed CIU CEO Les Khan has been implicated in an alleged scam worth US $165 million (or EC 447.1 million), under the St Kitts and Nevis Citizen by Investment Programme (CIP).
According to the Middle Eastern Times report, a St. Kitts -based company named Caribbean Galaxy had been given a government contract to build a prison, with 5,500 CIP passports offered as payment.
The report further revealed that under the prison contract arrangement, Caribbean Galaxy’s CEO Ying Jin would pay US $10,000 per citizenship application to Khan, who in turn would share the proceeds with Prime Minister Harris – a potential total of US $55 million.
Caribbean Galaxy, on the other hand, would keep US $20,000 per passport sold to every successful citizenship application — a potential total of US $110 million from passports sales (EC $298 million). The scale of the alleged scam was exposed by the revelation that a Barbados-based company had submitted a bid to build the said prison for US $30 million (EC $81 million).
Those eye-popping revelations have been met with denials from those accused, but the political opposition, trade unions and civil society groups have united in opposition, resulting in public protests in the past week and calls for Prime Minister Harris to step down and for fresh general elections.
Galaxy has been in hot water in St. Kitts…
