The European Union (EU) has abandoned the requirement that member states should not accept requests from investors who are on United Nations (UN) blacklists or under Union sanctions. Citing a draft of the EU's 2019 report on "golden visas", the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said the Union removed some of its key recommendations before its publication.
Malta and Cyprus could soon be the only two EU members to sell citizenship, after Bulgaria announced plans to end its economic citizenship programme, according to "Tougher measures removed from EU report". The OCCRP warns that Malta has already granted economic citizenship to Syrian businessman Rami Maluf, a close relative of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. At the time, Maluf was reportedly barred from entering the US due to his involvement in corruption. It is recalled that after that the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jurova, warned that the sale of "golden passports" increases the risk of organized crime, money laundering and tax evasion.
"We have to close the entry points for dirty money. Illegal money encourages other illegal activities," said Jurova at the time.
Recalling that passports and visas are usually sold through commercial partners, the OCCRP warns that the EU report has raised concerns about the conflict of interest that occurs when private companies "advise governments on the management of economic citizenship programs, but at the same time advise individuals on their applications." Since the beginning of the year, Montenegro has introduced an economic citizenship program, which will be available to a maximum of 2.000 top applicants over a period of three years.
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