PRESS STATEMENT of A. ANANDE TROTMAN–JOSEPH RESPONDING TO STATEMENTS of NEW TODAY and SENATOR RAY ROBERTS
I am constrained to respond to recent untrue statements made in recent reports of the New Today Weekly newspaper, for week ending February 28, captioned “Passport Sellers”, and a further Channel 6 News Report on Wednesday 5 March 2014, featuring Senator Ray Roberts, with respect to my membership of the Integrity Commission. These defamatory statements are as false as they are unfortunate.
Senator Roberts attempts, to comment on my membership of the Integrity Commission as being negatively linked to “passport sellers”; insinuating that professionals including myself, are “selling passports” and… going on to say…”it is crooks (who) engage in buying and selling passports”.
Therefore, in response to the statements, I state that I am not authorised to sell passports on behalf of the Government to anyone; and neither have I sought the right to do so. On the contrary, I am a licensed professional and local agent duly appointed by the Citizenship by Investment Committee (CBI), which is an independent statutory Committee. To be licensed, I made the relevant application to that committee, paid the appropriate fee and met the Committee’s due diligence requirements, including having adequate professional indemnity insurance. I therefore provide professional services to persons wishing to receive economic citizenship to Grenada in accordance with the Laws of Grenada. The appointment as a Local Agent is not a favour from Government. Under no circumstances do my professional responsibilities conflict with my duties as a member of the Integrity Commission.
I have been a Commissioner of the Integrity Commission since 2011, appointed and reappointed by successive Governors General, and have undergone anti -corruption training in Singapore on behalf of the Commission.
I therefore say without fear of contradiction that I serve with the highest degree of rectitude and professionalism.
A. ANANDE TROTMAN–JOSEPH
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