Officials from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Government of Saint Lucia will be meeting with students involved in the Lambirds Academy scandal tomorrow.
One of the students, who asked not to be named, told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) Tuesday (June 2) that this information was communicated to them recently.
The student said that police officials will pick them up at 8 a.m. Wednesday (June 3) to transport them to an unknown location for the meeting.
The meeting is being held to discuss with the students, the date and time and process in which they will be repatriated.
The male student, who spoke with SNO on the condition of anonymity, said he and his friends are happy to return home after being stranded here for several months.
He said he is glad that he will be able to reunite with his family, especially since he hasn’t seen or heard from them for the time they have been in Saint Lucia.
According to him, they are now more at ease, because they were given the assurance by government that once the case against Lambirds Academy concludes in their favour, they will have their money returned to them.
During the course of last week, the court heard each individual charge against the academy’s CEO Iftekhar Shams. He is facing charges of more than 60 counts of money laundering and human trafficking.
Shams along with three others are accused of scamming the students who are mainly from Nepal, India and the Philippines.
The group of students claimed that they had responded to an offer of education in hospitality, cruise and business management from Lambirds Academy, which is based in northern town of Gros Islet in St. Lucia.
The foreigners said they each paid US$9, 000 for the courses and US$13,000 to get to St. Lucia, but on arrival here were told by law enforcement authorities that they had been duped.
Some of the students have already been returned to their home with the assistance of the IOM.