According to reports, Phil Hughes suggested a direct or indirect role of Christian Kälin of Henley & Partners in channeling funds to benefit individuals gaining political power in St. Kitts and Nevis. Hughes’s remarks imply that Henley & Partners may have been instrumental in arranging payments from a network of passport buyers or industry stakeholders to support political figures. Henley & Partners has dismissed these comments as “wrong or misleading.”
However, further details emerged from a recorded interview in 2018 with former St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas. In this interview, obtained by OCCRP, Douglas acknowledged the involvement of Henley & Partners in financing political activities. He stated that payments, exceeding $3 million, to SCL (Strategic Communications Laboratories), a political consultancy firm, were facilitated through Henley & Partners and Dr. Kälin. Douglas clarified, “the payment to SCL was being provided through Henley & Partners and Dr. Kälin,” indicating the firm’s central role in the financial transactions. He further explained that investors in the St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship program were solicited for contributions to the political campaign, with these funds being directed to SCL via Henley & Partners. Invoices presented to the Labour Party were allegedly forwarded to and paid by Kälin, representing Henley & Partners.
Henley & Partners vehemently denied these claims. The firm stated that Douglas’s assertions about election financing were false. In a statement to OCCRP, Henley & Partners refuted Douglas’s account, asserting that “Neither Dr Kälin nor Henley & Partners have ever paid for his political campaigns.” They characterized Douglas as someone who “has frequently and blatantly lied publicly,” dismissing his statements as another instance of falsehood.
Despite these financial controversies, Douglas’ Labour Party secured a decisive victory in the January 2010 elections. Interestingly, the relationship between Henley & Partners and SCL deepened following this electoral success. Leaked documents suggest a growing cooperation between the two entities in the months after the election.
Expanding their collaboration, Henley & Partners entered into an agreement with SCL in March 2010 to identify and secure new political clients in regions where SCL lacked a presence. Under the terms of the contract, Henley & Partners was tasked with “identify[ing] potential government/Party political client parties” and facilitating communication between SCL and these potential clients. For their role in business development, Henley & Partners was entitled to a five percent commission on gross revenue from any agreements secured by SCL through their introductions, along with an additional ten percent of any “success fees” earned by SCL. This agreement was set for a duration of 60 months.
In a similar move in September 2010, Henley & Partners established an agreement with Behavioural Dynamics Institute (BDI) Ltd, a company associated with Nix, to pursue similar business development activities in St. Lucia. The objective was to find new political clients for BDI and facilitate introductions. Notably, SCL was already active in St. Lucia at the time, indicating a strategic expansion of political consultancy services in the Caribbean region. The agreement with BDI mirrored the one with SCL, with BDI receiving 15 percent of gross revenue for contracts secured through Henley & Partners’ efforts, also for a 60-month period.
These agreements highlight Henley & Partners’ expanding role beyond citizenship by investment, venturing into political consultancy business development and raising questions about the intersection of financial investment and political influence in the Caribbean. The allegations and documented partnerships underscore the need for greater transparency and scrutiny in the relationships between firms like Henley & Partners, political entities, and the shaping of political landscapes in small nations.
