Chairman of the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), Kaisha Ince, has denied reports that a Ukrainian businessman was repaid US$1 million after he failed to obtain a Grenada diplomatic passport. “This information is false we do not sell diplomatic passports, Grenada don't have a diplomatic passport selling programme, what we have is a Citizenship by Investment Programme and the passport provided under that programme is a regular passport,” said Ince who is also a legal and commercial advisor to Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell. “What is provided to persons who satisfy our due diligence process is a regular passport,” she said. Grenada's Foreign Affairs Ministry has also confirmed that only people with diplomatic portfolios working on behalf of the government are afforded diplomatic passports. Grenada, like several other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries provide citizenship to foreign nationals under its CIP in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the island. In his August 20, Financial Crime Blog, Kenneth Rijock, claimed that the Ukrainian businessman made his application through Henley and Partners and wire transferred the money to the company's account in a Singapore Bank. The report noted that when the Henley and Partners did not provide the passport, it was later was discovered that there was no pending application and that a government minister had arranged for a refund of the money. Grenada receives a continuous flow of applications through its local agents but because no name was mention in the article, the Government official said that they are unable to confirm or deny that an application was made by the alleged Ukrainian. According to the Grenada CIP website, the first step in applying for citizenship is choosing an authorised international marketing agent. Source: Ja Observer