The news reported by the Financial Times in the UK, that there are individuals who have been sanctioned over Russia's war in the Ukraine who have Maltese passports, is the latest example of why Malta's citizenship by investment scheme should be immediately stopped.

The programme has been at the centre of controversy right from the beginning.

Malta's citizenship-by-investment scheme - which is nicknamed as a 'golden passport' scheme - was introduced in 2014 under the moniker of the Individual Investor Programme, with the ultra-wealthy being able to buy Maltese citizenship for something around the range of €1 million, together with property commitments.

The 2014 Scheme was subsequently replaced in 2020 by the 'Maltese Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment' programme'.

The programmes have always been under scrutiny, even internationally.

The programmes have been criticised by the European Commission, which has taken Malta to the European Court over the issue. The European Court of Justice is set to decide on the European Commission's case against Malta's citizenship-by-investment scheme today. The European Commission has taken a stance strongly against the sale of citizenship, yet Malta has persisted.

The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Anthony Collins, had issued an opinion that the European Commission has failed to prove that EU law regarding citizenship requires the existence of any 'genuine' or 'prior genuine' link between a Member State and an individual, other than what is required under the state's domestic law in order to lawfully grant citizenship. The government has consistently argued that matters of citizenship are the competence of national governments, and from a legal point of view this will be up to the courts to decide today.

However, as the story reported by the Financial Times in the UK shows, the scheme in itself is a risk to this country's reputation.

The article makes reference to a Russian businessman as one of seven people who acquired Maltese citizenship and who were later hit by US, EU or Ukrainian sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine. It states that this businessman can partially circumvent the bloc's travel ban thanks to a Maltese passport he bought under a "golden" visa scheme.

That surely isn't looked upon well by our EU partners.

It is also not something that could have been predicted if, for instance, a person bought citizenship before Russia invaded the Ukraine. Yet here we are.

Citizenship should be something earned genuinely, by building links to a country, and should not be so easily attained just because someone has the wealth to purchase it.

People who purchase citizenship from Malta might not be doing so because they want to be Maltese, but rather because they can get a foothold in the EU. Are we ok with that?  

Now the process is meant to be quite rigorous in terms of background checks etc. But all it takes is one slip up for Malta's reputation to take a hit. And as seen by the Financial Times report, it could even be something unpredictable that has that effect.

Even if the court should decide in the government's favour, the government should really review the sale of citizenship, weighing whether it is willing to continue on with a programme which damages the country's reputation.