Malta’s Individual Investor Programme, aka the cash-for-passports scheme, took yet another international beating yesterday with highly critical articles appearing in the influential Brussels weekly newspaper Politico and a markedly sensationalist article in the UK’s Daily Express.

The Daily Express seized on comments given to Politico by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who said Malta’s IIP proves the UK must “urgently” put an end to free movement.

The outspoken Eurosceptic MP was quoted by Politico as saying, “Malta is effectively deciding UK immigration policy.  Clearly, there are going to be security concerns in terms of criminality, in terms of people coming in who perhaps are not desirable in our own country.”

The headline in the 500,000 circulation daily British tabloid was decidedly sensationalist: ‘Malta making MILLIONS selling passports to ANYONE with the cash sparking UK security fears’ and the story, which featured prominently on the Express’ website throughout the day yesterday attempts to use Malta’s IIP to justify the UK’s recent Brexit vote to leave the EU.

It also makes a meal of Politico’s own report, ‘Malta slammed for cash-for-passport program’ published yesterday morning.

Politico’s in-depth feature quotes a number of European parliamentarians, some of whom had fought hard against approval for Malta’s IIP when it was debated within the European Parliament.  The EP had voted against the scheme in a non-binding vote, but the IIP was approved later by the European Commission after haggling with the Maltese government over applicants’ real links to the country and an the introduction of an effective residence status – supposedly of 12 months – before granting citizenship to applicants.

Speaking to Politico, Frank Engel, a centre-right MEP from Luxembourg, was quoted as saying, “If I didn’t have a great deal of love and sympathy as well as respect for Malta as a country, I would say what I was inclined to say two years ago [in the EP vote]: These are the practices of a banana republic which must be rigorously counteracted within the EU.”

Ana Gomes, a senior Socialist MEP on the Justice and Home Affairs Committee and also the EP Panama Papers Committee vice-president, told Politico that such schemes “put at risk the integrity of the Schengen system” and should be looked at closer.

“I am absolutely disgusted,” she was quoted as saying, adding that she has demanded “an investigation by the EU Commission to look into member state investor schemes, not just Malta’s.”

Latvian MEP Robert Zīle, a former finance minister, said, “Citizenship is something that has to be earned, not simply handed out to people with deep pockets. The scheme may also be helping to defy the sanctions imposed on Russia by Europe as a large chunk, if not a majority, of those who get Maltese citizenship through investment in the country are of Russian origin.”