Personal interviews with candidates applying for Maltese citizenship under the government's 'cash-for-scheme' are not mandatory, according to the contract signed by the government with the scheme's concessionaire, Henley & Partners.
"A personal interview with an applicant shall not be a mandatory requirement but may be considered by the government, on the recommendation of the concessionaire, on a case-to-case basis, if deemed necessary in a particular case," the contract states.
The contract is valid for a ten-year period, though the government has a number of opt-out clauses if certain targets are not met.
The government retains the right to terminate the contract if less than €500 million has been paid into the citizenship scheme's account after a three-year period, starting from when the first applicant is granted Maltese citizenship.
The Public Accounts Committee tonight set out a tentative programme for discussing the 'cash-for-passports' contract signed between the government and Henley & Partners.
The Committee is set to meet on a weekly basis in order to scrutinise the contract. Both the government and Opposition will draw up a list of witnesses to appear before the Committee.
The contract made Henley & Partners “concessionaires” of the Individual Investor Programme, through which wealthy individuals can effectively purchase Maltese citizenships for themselves and their immediate family provided certain conditions are met.
PAC Chairman Tonio Fenech said that certain commercially sensitive clauses have been blanked out of the contract.
While expressing his agreement with withholding certain clauses which may have an impact on national security, he reserved the right to seek a ruling from Speaker Anglu Farrugia on certain clauses deemed to be commercially sensitive by the government.
The Opposition had originally asked the government to publish the contract in the PAC 10 months ago.
A ruling was sought by the government due to the commercial sensitivity of the contract.
Mr Fenech said the purpose of the PAC is to scrutinise the contract and its implications on Malta.
The PAC will not hold a "political debate" on the merits and demerits of the scheme, he said.
PL MP Charles Mangion said the political discussion on the programme has already happened, and the scheme has even been accepted at EU level.
PAC proceedings should not have an impact on the programme, Mr Mangion said.
From Russia with love
Over half(59 per cent) of the applications for Maltese citizenship under the government’s cash-for-passports scheme have been received from former Soviet Republics, according to a report tabled in Parliament yesterday by the scheme's regulator.
A further 30 per cent of applications came from Asia and 9.8 per cent from the Gulf region.
By the end of June 2014, 173 applications had been received.
Of these 173 main applicants, a further 96 adult dependants and 101 children applied for Maltese citizenship.
Seven of the applications had progressed to the second stage, submitting all the necessary forms and paying the fees for the four-tier due diligence process.
Only one of these applications was from an applicant enjoying a long-standing relationship with Malta.
In the report, it was pointed out that no metrics or guidelines had been provided to Identity Malta on the definition of residency.
The report also noted that the commitment made by Malta to the European Commission was that the applicants had to provide “genuine links to Malta through the introduction of an effective residence status in Malta prior to the possibility to acquire Maltese naturalisation."
This, the report stated, left a potential gap in ascertaining “effective residence status.”
"It is important for Identity Malta to provide clear guidelines of what is to be considered as admissible proof of residence in Malta. This so that actual or potential applicants will know upfront the onus upon them to prove their residence requirements in Malta,” the report said.