People with ill intentions could easily buy a Maltese passport to obtain the free movement they need, Italian politician Beppe Grillo wrote on his blog today.

The comedian turned politician who founded the Cinque Stelle movement wrote in his article, which he also shared on his Facebook page:

“In Malta everything is ready for the country to start selling passports to foreigners in less than a month. Malta will start selling citizenship for €650,000. Henley & Partners - the company that will administer the scheme - will sell 1,800 Maltese passports so that the country can earn €1 billion – more than one third of the nation’s GDP. In return, Henley will pocket some €46 million. This does not include the commissions from the applications for wives, parents and children.

Many in Europe are concerned about Malta’s scheme and even the European Parliament has debated the issue. A Maltese passport is an EU passport. It allows free movement within the EU and visa-free travel to many countries, like the US.  

People with ill-intentions could easily invest €650,000 in Malta to gain free movement. But neither the European Parliament, nor the Maltese Parliament – where the Opposition is fighting the scheme – has the power to stop it.”