2023 starts with an unexpected plot twist for the Caribbean program. A champion of the citizenship by investment program in the country has resigned. In December 2022, Mr. Les Khan confirmed his resignation as the CEO of St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) with the Investment Migration Council. The resignation took effect on January 1, 2023.
Mr. Khan began work with CIU in 2014 as an outside consultant and in 2016 he was appointed CEO of the CIU. Mr. Khan was also the first Caribbean CIU boss to act as chairman of the Citizenship by Investment Program Association (CIPA), a regional body formed to foster closer cooperation among the Eastern Caribbean Citizenship Investment Units.
Mr. Les Khan departs from the Citizenship Investment Unit four months after a change of government in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The new Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, National Security, Citizenship and Immigration, Health and Social Security, Hon. Terrance Drew announced the appointment of Mr. Michael Martin as the new head of the CIU. Mr. Martin has much experience in the Citizenship Investment Unit business and was one of the industry’s top service providers.
Mr. Martin is a national of St. Kitts and Nevis and has served in top managerial positions in several companies, including the National Caribbean Insurance Company and the Insurance Association of the Caribbean, among others. He holds a graduate diploma by the International Compliance Association and Manchester Business School, a certificate in International Trust Management from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and a certificate in Managing Financial Services from the University of the West Indies.
Mr. Martin has big plans and changes for the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit: He announced that an analysis will be conducted to assess the status of the CIU and determine the best way forward to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. He acknowledged that the citizenship by investment program is very important to the development of the country. He further said that the program would have to be rebranded and refocused, strategic goals would have to be defined and new investment options would have to be created and aligned to the strategic goals.
The citizenship by investment program of St. Kitts and Nevis is expected to undergo a complete evolution that will look at emerging markets and redefine a more exclusive target client.