Vanuatu government takes steps to save CBI program

By Uglobal Staff

The government of Vanuatu has taken steps to salvage its citizenship by investment program, appointing a UK-based due diligence agency as well as a new marketing firm, following the EU Commission’s proposal to partially suspend the union’s visa waiver agreement with the country.

The advisory and marketing firm CS Global Partners announced today it was partnering with the government of Vanuatu to restructure and rebrand the country's CBI program.

The Vanuatu government also announced last week that it was signing an agreement with the due diligence UK agency, FACT UK and gave assurances that more international due diligence firms would be appointed to make the country's CBI program more robust.

The measures were taken after the EU Commission announced on January 12 that Vanuatu’s CBI program posed a threat to the security of the EU since applicants were not being properly screened.

The Vanuatu government said the program would be thoroughly reviewed "in line with internationally accepted standards," according to an official statement.

“The government shall retroactively run full due diligence checks on all CBI applicants granted citizenship in the last six years to ensure that only reputable applicants have been approved. If an economic citizen fails the due diligence check, their citizenship will likely be revoked,” it added.

According to media reports, Vanuatu will have about two months of breathing space to negotiate with the EU Commission before the partial suspension of the union’s visa waiver deal with the country is implemented following the Council of Europe’s approval of the measure.

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