Before granting citizenship to potential investors, Montenegro should require verification of the origin of their money, in order to prevent possible money laundering.
Programs for granting citizenship and residence permits in exchange for investments, better known as the "golden visa", open up space for abuses and undermine the fight against corruption in the European Union (EU) and the countries of the region.
This is stated in the analysis carried out by the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) with "Transparency International" and OCCRP. In the text entitled "Rich, successful, maybe a little shady? Try Montenegro", it is stated that the EU should carefully monitor the programs of "economic citizenships", in order to preserve the integrity of the European borders from the corrupt and their property.
"Citizenship and residence are the most valuable assets that the state can offer to an individual. However, the EU countries did not even perform the minimum checks that banks do when it comes to their high-paying clients," said Casey Kelso, Director of Representation at Transparency International.
The text states that the Government of Montenegro granted citizenship to a number of dubious businessmen, but that most of them did not invest in Montenegro, even though this was the official reason they received Montenegrin passports.
It is recalled that Montenegro granted citizenship to individuals who were accused in their countries, such as the former president of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, who was accused of corruption, and the former Palestinian security minister Mohamed Dahlan, suspected of misuse of public funds.
Among others, Malaysian billionaire Wei Seng Pua, who was arrested in the USA for organizing an illegal betting ring, received Montenegrin citizenship.
It is also recalled that the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism invited potential investors to develop an economic citizenship program. Kornelia Abel, coordinator for Europe and Central Asia at Transparency International, warns that such programs can be problematic.
"You have to be careful with those programs, because they can often be abused. An extreme case is Hungary, where the profits from the program are not received by the state, but flow into the pockets of unknown people through offshore companies.
The programs can be so poorly organized that criminals can enter the country, thereby enabling the potential strengthening of terrorism and increasing instability," she says and points out that the Montenegrin government, through new laws, should require a background check of every businessman, in order to determine the origin of money and avoid possible abuses.
And in the EU they give citizenship for investments
The "golden visa" program is said to be a global phenomenon that helps those with money secure residency or even citizenship in exchange for investment in their "new homelands." It is emphasized that the money they need to invest is not small, ranging from a few hundred thousand euros to 10 million.
"While many simply want the convenience of visa-free travel to destinations such as the United States of America or the European Union (EU), others have darker motives such as tax avoidance, money laundering or avoiding criminal prosecution," the text states.
It is emphasized that more than 20 countries offer the "golden visa" program, and among them are EU members such as Hungary, Portugal, Austria and Bulgaria.
The text also states that in European countries the origin of the wealth of "golden visa" users has not been sufficiently examined and points out that the public does not have details related to investments and who benefits from them.
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