David (Dave) Ames had an SVG passport. Gonsalves stated
In a notable shift from previous assertions, St Vincent’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves announced on Monday that David Ames, a con artist who deceived over 8,000 individuals into investing in a celebrity-endorsed luxury holiday resort on St Vincent, possessed a Vincentian passport.
Gonsalves, nonetheless, informed the media in Kingstown that Ames’s Vincentian passport did not constitute a case of citizenship acquired through investment. The recent disclosure prompts enquiries regarding the potential acquisition of a Vincentian passport by individuals such as William Wise and others.
On October 4, 2022, Gonsalves stated, “I make it my business not to discuss individual cases of citizenship or what has been done unless it arrives at a point which is necessary and desirable to do so. I have no doubt that he had his own reasons for wanting to be a citizen of St Vincent and the Grenadines, but he has never had a passport from St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Gonsalves said.
On Monday, Gonsalves articulated two primary distinctions regarding David Ames.
”First of all, when Ames got his citizenship, there was no allegation when due diligence was done that he was involved in any skullduggery that came afterwards about the pension funds which were being used to invest, and as soon as his problem arose and he was found guilty, his passport was immediately revoked.”
”Secondly, Ames didn’t get a passport by paying $250,000 up front, and nobody knew anything about him. Never come here; never do anything. He was around here for five years.”
Gonsalves said Ames was dealt with under the law in the United Kingdom; however, the NDP tries to muddy the water.
“The NDP tries to muddy the water with things like that. But those things are not citizenship by investment. These things are not selling your passport. I cannot sell a passport. If a person acquires citizenship by naturalisation or any of these processes, there’s an administrative fee, and it’s relatively small; I think it’s about $2000.00 or something like that.”
In 2012, to a question asked by the Opposition in Parliament, the Prime Minister refused to say how many individuals involved in the Buccament Bay development had been granted citizenship.
Although he said his refusal was centred around the rules of the House of Assembly, the Prime Minister pointed out then that the law allows him to grant citizenship to people at his discretion without having to explain his decisions.
Ames had told the SEARCHLIGHT newspaper in 2012 that he was granted Vincentian citizenship.
A judge at Southward Crown Court in the UK jailed him for 12 years, stating that he had operated “a gigantic Ponzi scheme”.
It was heard Ames, from Basildon, convinced people to invest in the Harlequin Group – a hotel and resorts development venture that was endorsed by celebrities and politicians, including the prime ministers of Barbados, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
