One week after agreeing to continue its termination of Russian and Belarusian CIP applications, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has asked for more time.

On February 25, following a request by the United States, the CIP countries agreed to suspend the processing of applications from Russians and Belarusians, with Grenada given until March 31, 2023 to do the same.

But now, the twin island nation has written to the US government, saying that Prime Minister Gaston Browne was unaware that several applications for Citizenship by Investment had been accepted by the Citizenship by Investment Unit from Russian nationals, and that these applications had already entered the process of enhanced due diligence.

“Given this circumstance, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda advises the US State Department, and, by extension, the Department of The Treasury, that it is obliged to adopt the same course as was agreed for the Government of Grenada at the meeting of February 25th, 2023, and, that is, to implement its agreement to suspend processing applications from Russians and Belarusians, effective March 31st, 2023,” the Antiguan and Barbudan government said.

The government said also that all relevant agents and agencies of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda will be informed of the suspension date of 31st March 2023, after which no applications will be accepted.

At the recent meeting, between the Heads of Government of five Eastern Caribbean States, which operate Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes, and a team from the US Department of The Treasury led by Ms. Anna Morris, Deputy Assistant Secretary, six principles were agreed upon relating to the CIP’s.

It was recognized and accepted that the implementation of this measure has and will continue to have significant adverse revenue impact for the CBI states.

Both Parties also agreed to convene a technical discussion within the next four to six months to assess the status of implementation of the agreed six principles.