A private letter written by prominent Dominican businessman Gregor Nassief to the island’s government detailing long-running concerns over the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program was leaked to social media earlier this week, forcing the well-known hotel developer to publicly clarify his long-held position during a Friday press conference.
Nassief told reporters that the leaked June correspondence was far from an out-of-the-blue complaint: over the past seven years, he has sent 14 separate letters to the current administration, repeatedly pleading for officials to address problematic practices that he argues erode the value of legitimate investments and threaten the long-term viability of the program itself.
For context, Dominica’s CBI program offers two main pathways to citizenship for foreign investors. The first is the Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) route, which requires a full non-refundable contribution directly to the national treasury. The second, launched in 2014 to drive tourism and hotel development, requires an investment in government-approved real estate. A portion of each real estate investment goes to on-island project development, with the remainder deposited into the national treasury.
Contrary to public speculation that Nassief is pushing to eliminate the program entirely, the developer emphasized that his criticism targets only one specific provision: the 2016-introduced social infrastructure (housing) pathway. Nassief alleges this route operates as an unlawful, deeply discounted channel to citizenship that cuts deeply into potential state revenue. He estimates that only $15,000 to $20,000 from each housing pathway transaction reaches the treasury, compared to a $250,000 total contribution for a family of four through the official EDF route. He questioned why any investor would pay full price for citizenship when a third party can arrange the same status for roughly half the cost, asking what that undercutting has cost the Dominican public in lost revenue.
Nassief, whose luxury Secret Bay resort development was founded in 2011 and approved for the CBI program in 2018, acknowledged that CBI participation has been critical to his own business. After facing severe, prolonged disruptions from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic, CBI investment allowed his resort to stabilize and expand. Today, the development counts both CBI and non-CBI investors, and Nassief claims Secret Bay is the only CBI-approved project in Dominica that publishes public financial statements and pays out quarterly returns to investors on a consistent basis.
It was in 2019 that Nassief says he first became aware of widespread questionable practices across the broader CBI program, and he sent his first formal letter to authorities that October. Beyond illegal discounting and pervasive lack of transparency, he alleges that many approved projects have moved forward without mandatory planning approvals from the government. This, he warns, bypasses critical environmental reviews that assess potential harm to Dominica’s protected ecosystems and natural landscapes, putting the island’s environment at unnecessary risk.
Nassief also raised alarms over the rapid acceleration in passport issuance, based on global industry data (since the Dominican government does not release official CBI statistics). He estimates that in the program’s early years, roughly 500 passports were issued annually. That number grew to around 2,000 per year by 2017, and hit more than 6,000 in just the first six months of 2024. The boom in discounted citizenship has also siphoned business away from legitimate, high-value real estate CBI projects, Nassief says, leaving many approved projects stalled or underperforming.
Beyond domestic lost revenue and environmental risks, Nassief points to mounting international scrutiny of Dominica’s CBI program as evidence of the reputational damage unregulated practices have caused. In 2023, the United Kingdom imposed new strict visa requirements on all Dominican citizens, a move widely linked to concerns over CBI vetting. The European Union has also called for all Caribbean CBI programs to be phased out by 2028, threatening to revoke visa-free access for member states for countries that retain the programs. The U.S. government also revised its immigration rules for Dominica, shortening visa validity for multiple categories, amid widespread concerns over the rigor of the program’s citizenship vetting process.
Nassief shared a personal anecdote to illustrate the depth of the program’s reputational damage: during a trip roughly four years ago, an immigration officer expressed surprise to see him holding a Dominican passport, noting he was the first actual Dominican citizen the officer had ever encountered with one.
When reporters brought up public questions over his own credibility and motivations, Nassief said he is ready and willing to participate in any public dialogue on appropriate media platforms and answer questions from any critic. At its core, his push for change is aimed at fixing years of mismanagement, restoring transparency and accountability, and creating a level playing field for all legitimate CBI investors. He reiterated that he does not seek to shut down the CBI program, only to implement a full, comprehensive review and systemic reform.
To that end, Nassief has formally requested either a parliamentary hearing or a special independent committee review with representation from both the government and private sector stakeholders. If those channels fail to deliver meaningful change, he is calling for a judicial review, a formal public commission of inquiry, and an independent forensic financial audit of all CBI program activity from the past 10 years. “We need to understand what’s taken place, how the money has flowed…and how to move forward,” he said.
Noelize Knight-Didier, president of the Dominica Bar Association and Nassief’s legal counsel, confirmed that the government has not responded to the request for a parliamentary hearing, so the team is now moving forward with the next steps in the process. She added that any CBI participant harmed by the alleged illegal discounting practices can pursue legal action through available channels, noting that Nassief’s first preference is for President Sylvanie Burton to approve a formal commission of inquiry and independent review, a process that would allow all sides to examine the claims thoroughly and work toward solutions.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has recently publicly pledged to take punitive action against CBI program abusers, including revoking passports issued through improper channels. Nassief said he wants to see that promise turned into action to root out mismanagement and protect the long-term future of the CBI program.
In closing, Nassief emphasized that Dominica must act now to safeguard the value and credibility of its CBI program through stronger regulation and accountability. At the same time, he warned that the island’s heavy reliance on CBI revenue leaves it economically vulnerable, and the government must prioritize building up other domestic economic pillars to ensure long-term stability.
