Identity Malta has refused to provide The Malta Independent on Sundaywith concrete figures of the physical spot checks the authority conducts on applicants of the cash-for-passports scheme.The newsroom became aware of a number of individuals who have barely set foot on the island, despite regulations stipulating that they must be a resident of the country for a minimum period of 12 months.
The Individual Investor Programme (IIP),which, as of November 2017, hadearned €360 million for the National Development and Social Fund, facilitates the sale of Maltese citizenship to wealthy individuals, who either buy or rent a property in Malta and invest a minimum of €650,000 to obtain a passport, allowing them free movement in the EU, among other benefits.
According to regulations “no certificate of naturalisation shall be issued unless the main applicant of provides proof that he has been a resident of Malta for a period of at least twelve months preceding the day of the issuing of the certificate of naturalisation”.
However, this newsroom is aware of a number of cases where physical checks were never conducted, with sources explaining that the owners of said property often turn on the electricity and water in the residence to give the appearance that the applicants have been on the island.
The newsroom approached Identity Malta to establish what criteria is used to prove that an applicant has been residing in Malta for a period of at least 12 months; and whether regular spot-checks were carried out by Identity Malta or any government entity.
“To ensure compliance with the residence permits, checks on properties are conducted. Properties are checked to ensure that these properties are not sublet. All properties submitted in the application are accompanied by an architect’s evaluation and are checked by Identity Malta agency,” a spokesperson said.
The newsroom then asked the entity to provide a physical record of these spot-checks, to which the spokesperson replied: “We do physically check all properties to ensure that all applicants abide by the legal requirements.”
When pressed further, Identity Malta instructed the newsroom to take the information ithas to the relevant authorities.
Serious issues of IIP yet to be addressed while PN fails to find a position
IIP, which was capped at 1,800 successful applicants and is currently undergoing a consultation process to launch a second round of applications, has been at the centre of controversy since its inception in 2014.
MEPs and some local politicians have highlighted the unethical practice of putting a price on EU citizenship, while BBC’s John Sweeny told Prime Minister Joseph Muscat that he was the “Artful Dodger of Europe” and the “passport-seller-in-chief” during an interview.
They say that the scheme’s safeguards are weak, lack transparency, and that the system has been abused by shady individuals; while the government has long asserted, correctly, that the scheme is approved by the EU Commission.
A published list which contains 2,182 people that became naturalised Maltese citizens in 2016 has done little to quash these concerns, as it in no way distinguishes citizenship buyers from those who earned citizenship and were not in the cash-for-passports scheme.
The government has so far declined to provide a separate list of passport buyers’ names.
Over 700 wealthy Russians have acquired Maltese citizenship so far, including Arkady Volozh, owner of Russia’s largest search engine Yandex, Alexey De-Monderik, co-founder of major cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab, and Alexander Mechatin, CEO of Russia’s largest private spirits company Beluga Group,
Also damning was the information revealed in the leaked Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit reports, now the subject of a magisterial inquiry, that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri received kickbacks from the sale of Maltese passports. His wife, Josette Schembri Vella is also the sole shareholder and director of a company that facilitates IIP.
Opposition to IIP on a local level seems to have diminished. While there seems to be criticism from the public at large, the Nationalist Party, which initially firmly opposed the scheme despite having a number of members who flogged passports in their private careers, have since failed to take a clear position on IIP, with the PN parliamentary group locked in debate over the subject for the past few weeks.
If you would like to pass on any information regarding IIP, which will remain confidential, please email [email protected]