From Carnival to School meals – paid for by CIP

A review of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) Six-monthly Report for June to December 2016 has revealed that the CIU’s operating account is used to cover a multiplicity of public expenses, the most recurrent of which are pension payments and carnival.
According to the document released this week, the government of Antigua & Barbuda continues to spend $2 to $3 million each month to shore up shortfalls at the Antigua & Barbuda Social Security Board (ABSSB).
In addition, the “Antigua Carnival Committee” received several hundred thousand dollars monthly from the CIU on the instructions of the Cabinet. The committee received $800,000 in June, $450,000 in July, $300,000 in September, $500,000 in November and $1,436,600 in December.
The report also notes miscellaneous expenditure in many different sectors. On July 27, 2016 a cheque for $540,000 was made out to Leewind Paints Limited for the stated purpose of “financial assistance”. On August 17, 2016 the CIU wrote another cheque to Leewind Paints for $270,000 for the stated purpose of “financial assistance for restructuring”.
On August 29, 2016, $353,324.50 was wired to Elite Reports Limited for “Robb Report Publication” and another $285,402 was wired to Hansib Publications for the “A Bit of Paradise Publication”. The CIU also wrote a cheque to James & Maginley Limited on October 27, 2016 for “charter flight assistance for promotion in Dubai”.
The group, World Investment News was wired $162,064.74 on November 2, 2016 for “One page advertorial promoting tourism and CIP”. In November, payouts were also made to the National Solid Waste Management Corporation for a “clean-up scope exercise” and the Antigua Pier Group Limited received money for “operating shortfall assistance”.
Senator Osbert Frederick was written a cheque for $45,000 on December 23, 2016 for “special projects at agricultural development corporation”.
The report also presented information from the period prior to June 2016 which indicated that initiatives such as the School Meals Programme received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the CIU. The report is available online at www.cip.gov.ag
You can also see the report here.