Organized Crime in St. Kitts and Nevis: A Threat to Governance

Enabling Environment

St. Kitts and Nevis has a unique set of circumstances that make it an attractive location for organized crime groups.

Bank-secrecy laws: The country’s strict secrecy laws allow individuals to maintain their financial transactions confidential, making it difficult to track illicit activities.
Lack of transparency: There is limited information available regarding the beneficial ownership of legal entities, which enables money laundering and other illicit activities.
Strong anonymity: The strong anonymity offered by the country makes it challenging for law enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend individuals involved in organized crime.

Citizen by Investment Programme

The country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) is a significant contributor to organized crime in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Foreign nationals: The programme allows foreign nationals to purchase local passports, which can be used to facilitate organized crime activities such as drug trafficking.
Money laundering: The CIP enables individuals to launder money through the country’s financial system, making it an attractive location for money laundering operations.

Resilience

Despite some efforts to curb violence and organized crime, the use of St. Kitts and Nevis as a safe haven for money laundering remains a significant challenge to governance.

Efforts to curb violence: The government has implemented various measures to reduce violence in the country, but more needs to be done to address the root causes of organized crime.
Money laundering: The country’s financial system is vulnerable to money laundering due to its strict secrecy laws and lack of transparency regarding beneficial ownership of legal entities.

Leadership and Governance

St. Kitts and Nevis has a set of anti-corruption laws in place, but they are not always enforced adequately.

Anti-corruption laws: The country has implemented various anti-corruption measures, including the establishment of an Integrity Commission.
Transparency in governance: Transparency in governance is fair, but legislation on freedom of information needs to be institutionalized.

Criminal Justice and Security

The justice system appears independent, but investigations and prosecutions against organized crime groups are rare.

Independent justice system: The country has a relatively independent justice system, but there are concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary.
Investigations and prosecutions: Investigations and prosecutions against organized crime groups are rare due to corruption and lack of resources within the justice system.

Economic and Financial Environment

St. Kitts and Nevis has an operational financial intelligence unit and established law-enforcement cooperation mechanisms related to money laundering.

Financial intelligence unit: The country has a well-established financial intelligence unit that is responsible for monitoring and analyzing financial transactions to prevent money laundering.
Law-enforcement cooperation: St. Kitts and Nevis has established strong law-enforcement cooperation mechanisms with other countries to combat organized crime.

Victim and witness protection is minimal, but prevention programs aimed at tackling root causes of crime have yielded positive results in reducing the homicide rate.

Minimal victim protection: Victim and witness protection is a significant concern in St. Kitts and Nevis due to lack of resources and inadequate legislation.
Prevention programs: Prevention programs aimed at tackling root causes of crime, such as poverty and unemployment, have been implemented with positive results.