The ‘Passport for Investment’ program turned into a corruption scheme in Cyprus
As ‘Russkaya Germaniya’ notes, ‘golden passports’ proved attractive not only to those seeking to obtain them legally – corruption reached such a scale that last year the Cypriot authorities decided to review all passports issued for investment since 2002. The investigation was prompted by media exposure. Al Jazeera claimed that dozens of passport applicants ‘are under criminal investigation in their home countries, and some are under international sanctions.’
The results of the review were striking: more than half of Cyprus’s ‘golden passports’ were issued illegally. During the program’s operation, 3,500 passports were received not by the investors themselves but by their adult relatives. Additionally, due to an error (likely not accidental), citizenship was granted to top managers who were not owners of local companies.
The report states that the Cypriot government misinterpreted the law. The authorities accepted and approved citizenship applications while neglecting to comply with the legal procedures stipulated by law and without proper background checks. Now, for those who illegally obtained a ‘golden passport,’ the realized dream of Cypriot citizenship will turn into criminal prosecution.
The first criminal case regarding illegal acquisition of citizenship will be heard in the Larnaca District Court. Local media report that the hearing will consider the case of an Iranian citizen who obtained a Cypriot passport after stealing $30 million from the Iranian army. The offender is on the international wanted list.
Charges in this high-profile case have been brought against five individuals and four legal entities. They are accused on 37 counts, including document forgery, providing false documents, and conspiracy to obtain citizenship. The ‘golden passport’ was issued not only to the accused but also to his parents.
Brussels has repeatedly demanded reforms to the ‘Passports for Investment’ program. The EU long suspected that organized crime could exploit this convenient scheme, but the Cypriot authorities managed to resist EU pressure for a long time. In response, Cyprus stated that investments were critically needed to overcome the consequences of the economic crisis on the island.
Under the program, 6,779 ‘golden’ passports were issued. On average, each such passport brought $3 million into the Cypriot economy. On November 1, 2020, the issuance of passports was completely halted, and in February 2021, the authorities announced that they did not intend to resume the program.