Fact Check: Claim that the Government Could Owe US$23 Billion over Destiny Is Completely False

A claim circulating online that the Government could face a US$23 billion penalty if the Destiny project were cancelled has been thoroughly reviewed - and it simply does not hold up.

Independent analysis of the claim shows no legal, financial, or contractual basis for such a figure. There is no evidence of any agreement that could make the island liable for a penalty of that scale.

The number appears to have been invented, with no link to any real document, statement, or negotiation connected to the Destiny initiative. Run Di Chat reviewed the available information - including public materials about the project’s structure - and found nothing to support the rumour.

The Destiny project, which proposes a Special Sustainability Zone in southern Nevis, has sparked passionate debate in recent weeks. But while discussions about its impact are legitimate, the US$23 billion penalty story is fiction.

Large-scale figures like this often spread quickly online because they sound dramatic, but there is no evidence that Nevis could be held responsible for any sum of that nature.

The takeaway: debate Destiny’s merits if you like but do it with facts. The “US$23 billion penalty” belongs in the rumour pile - not the record.