For years, Eastern Caribbean governments have operated Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs, which grant citizenship to foreign applicants in exchange for substantial financial investment. As international scrutiny of these schemes has grown over the past decade, regional authorities have repeatedly defended their protocols, emphasizing that rigorous background checks and globally recognized due diligence frameworks effectively block high-risk and criminal applicants from securing citizenship. But a new peer-reviewed academic study published in the *Global Crime* journal, titled *Passports, Transactions and Trust: Middle Eastern Financial Executives on Money Laundering Risks in Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Schemes*, calls these official assurances into question, based on firsthand testimony from senior international banking leaders.
Exclusive report: New study raises fresh questions about security vetting in Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programmes
