Transparency International Calls on Cyprus to Stop the "Golden Passport" Program
August 28, 2020
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According to the organization, the government does not have enough incentives for effective reforms.
The non-governmental organization Transparency International has asked the European Commission to cancel the "golden passport" program. This appeal followed the leak of government documents in Cyprus. According to the organization, ut showed the vulnerability of schemes for obtaining citizenship by investment for corruption and money laundering, reports Cyprus Property News.
" The Cyprus Papers" by Al Jazeera shows that the EU is currently vulnerable to the haphazard sale of the EU citizenship and residence permits to criminals and corrupt individuals.
Journalists received a lot of documents with details of how 1,400 investors and 1,100 members of their families acquired citizenship of Cyprus from 2017 to 2019. Among the main applicants were at least 30 people with a criminal record or charges, as well as 40 politically significant individuals. According to Al Jazeera, a number of Cypriot passport holders have made their money from political and economic relations with their governments.
"Despite sporadic reforms in response to criticism and public scandals, the Cypriot "golden passport" scheme remains vulnerable to corruption and money laundering," the investigation said. Some investors from the list received passports after the government introduced stricter selection criteria in May, 2019.
"The government of Cyprus has previously admitted mistakes by committing to eliminate loopholes and revoke citizenship from those, who should not have been granted it in the first place."
"The Cyprus Papers" shows that the problem is much broader than random errors in making decisions. The Cyprus scheme is inherently vulnerable to abuse, and the only appropriate response is to suspend it," said Laure Brillaud, the Senior Policy Director at the Transparency International EU.
"These investigations add to the growing body of evidence that member states have little incentive to actually reform their "golden visa" schemes in order to prevent abuse, " the organization said in a statement.
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