People Moves
Economic Citizenship Expert Joins Billionaire Financier, Hollywood Legend As Antigua Envoy
The founder of a financial advisory firm focusing on investor programmes for residency and citizenship has joined movie legend Robert De Niro and billionaire financier Martin Franklin as a special economic envoy by the government of Antigua and Barbuda. He will be envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The founder of a financial advisory firm focusing on investor programmes for residency and citizenship has joined movie legend Robert De Niro and billionaire financier Martin Franklin as a special economic envoy by the government of Antigua and Barbuda. He will be envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Armand Arton’s firm is Arton Capital, which works with governments, consultants, lawyers and financial firms to attract foreign investments. Arton Capital provides advice and financial services to government agencies in countries including Quebec/Canada Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, St Kitts, Antigua and Dominica, a statement from Arton Capital said.
The move is an example of how jurisdictions are competing to roll out investor programmes aimed at wealthy individuals. The list of jurisdictions in this space includes the UK, Malta, Portugal and Spain. On the other hand, Hong Kong recently shut down its scheme and Canada has recently shuttered its programme.
“My government feels that Mr Arton’s knowledge and expertise in the field of economic citizenship will be beneficial in helping us to achieve our vision of positioning Antigua and Barbuda as a best practice model for citizenship and residency programmes in the Gulf Cooperation Council region and beyond,” Gaston Browne, prime minister of the Caribbean jurisdiction, said.
Arton’s role as envoy is to attract foreign direct investment to Antigua and Barbuda by advocating the country’s citizenship by investment programme. Among his recent moves was attracting Sheikh Al Qassimi as a strategic investor in the Callaloo Bay real estate project on the island, the statement said.
De Niro, the renowed actor, was made an envoy in November last year because of his involvement in a $250 million hotel development in Barbuda. Martin Franklin was named an envoy in December last year.