Cyprus to revoke 26 ‘golden passports’

Some 2,000 more are under enhanced scrutiny as Nicosia cleans up its act

Cyprus has launched procedures to revoke 26 passports given to investors through the Citizenship for Investment scheme after an investigation into possible violations, said Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides.

The moves follow an outcry over media reports of a Malaysian fugitive involved in a multi-billionaire scam obtaining a Cypriot passport.

Cypriot daily Politis reported that Malaysian businessman Jho Low had also been granted a Cypriot passport after buying a EUR 5 mln luxury villa in the resort of Ayia Napa.

Head of the Cyprus Church Archbishop Chrysostomos II sent a recommendation letter to the cabinet for Jho Low to be fast-tracked.

Jho Low is allegedly involved in a multi-billion-dollar scandal that broke out in 2015 when he was managing an investment firm named 1Malaysia Development Berhad headed by the then prime minister of Malaysia Najib Razak.

Earlier Reuters reported that family members and allies of Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen were given Cypriot citizenship through the scheme.

Those named include police chief Neth Savoeun, whose force Reuters accused of “arresting Hun Sen’s political opponents and violently suppressing anti-government protests”.

It also said the top cop, his wife Hun Kimleng — the prime minister’s niece — and their three children were on a US “visa blacklist” for undermining democracy.

Petrides said the cabinet would “launch the process of withdrawal of citizenship” from 26 people, without mentioning their names.

However, according to reports the names of the Malaysian fugitive and the Cambodians are on the list along with several Chinese and Russian investors.

Cyprus had previously faced pressure from Brussels to reform its citizenship-for-investment scheme, which the European Commission has said may help organised crime gangs infiltrate the bloc.

Petrides said the revoked passports relate to persons who were evidently involved in wrongdoing.

According to the stricter criteria passports cannot be given to people who have been convicted of criminal offences or whose assets have been frozen in the EU.

Applicants have to own a Schengen visa when applying and should not have been rejected by a similar scheme of an EU country.

Investors applying after the new criteria were introduced will have to undergo tougher scrutiny as three international agencies were hired by the government to perform enhanced due diligence checks.

Petrides told reporters Wednesday that cabinet was determined to “strictly adhere to the criteria, which are now “much stronger”. The Interior Minister added that some 2,000 cases are to be reviewed pre-2018. In February Nicosia updated its criteria, imposing more stringent due diligence procedures.

“This scheme helped the country in a particularly difficult time. But, mistakes were made,” Petrides said. All the cases under scrutiny were processed before tougher criteria were introduced in 2018.

Investors who will see their citizenship revoked will have 30 days to appeal, with their cases being reviewed once more by an investigating committee.

A cash-strapped Cyprus government intensified its efforts to attract investors with its passport for investment following the island’s 2013 economic crisis. The programme was launched in 2008 without much interest.

The scheme has granted citizenships to 1,864 investors and 1,615 family members bringing in some 6.6 bln euros.

Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, is the only EU state apart from Malta and Bulgaria to run a scheme selling citizenship.

Main opposition left-wing AKEL has urged the government to assume its responsibilities and come clean over its passport scheme which it says has tarnished the country’s reputation.

The number of pending applications is expected to exceed the ceiling of 700 applications per year, both for the remainder of 2019 and 2020.

Reportedly, the cabinet was considering a suspension of the scheme until 2021 but it finally decided not to do so.