This clarification came after a Grenadian news source misquoted the CEO of CIP Saint Lucia, stating that Saint Lucia refused to sign the regional Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate the processing of applications from Russian citizens.

Since the publication of the news piece, NOW Grenada apologised for the error and corrected the misquoted lines from CIP CEO Mc Claude Emmanuel.

“Editor’s note: Quoted statements from Mr Mc Claude Emmanuel were edited/corrected after cross-checking with clearer recordings of the conference proceedings. NOW Grenada apologies for the error,”  Now Grenada wrote.

In the corrected statements, CEO Emmanuel is recorded as explaining that Saint Lucia requested additional time to meet its contractual obligations. Emmanuel added that Grenada’s CIP also requested some special arrangements as they intended to continue processing some Russian applications.

“I think it was our dear friends from Grenada when we met at the US State Department, who wanted some concessions on how we treat Russian applications, and they got another 4–6 weeks to facilitate the processing of Russian applications. So I think we had some contracts in place that we wanted either to grandfather or have some time to negotiate how we amend them,” said Emmanuel during an investment forum in Grenada.

At a press conference on Tuesday, May 28th, the Opposition UWP, relying on the incorrect statements issued by the Grenadian news source, urged the government to stop processing Russian passports.

UWP Public Relations Officer, Lenard Montoute, led that call.

Subsequently, in a press release, the Saint Lucia Labour Party urged the members of the UWP to rely on factual information.

“If the now disgraced former Minister, Spider Montoute, cared about his country, he would have referred to local publications, which carried the notice of discontinued issuance of passports to Russia since February 15, 2023,” said the SLP.

The 2024 Henley Report tanks Saint Lucia’s CIP as the third best in the world.