EU’s top court orders end to Malta’s ‘golden passport’ program
- A Financial Times investigation reported that 16 people, including sanctioned Russians, obtained Maltese citizenship.
- These individuals successfully purchased citizenship despite facing sanctions or prior criminal convictions.
- At least seven individuals sanctioned by the EU, US, or Ukraine acquired Maltese passports.
- The citizenship program requires investments starting from €600,000.
- Malta remains the sole EU state offering citizenship for investment and faces legal action from Brussels, with a court ruling expected Tuesday.
155 Articles
155 Articles
Between 2011 and 2019, more than 132,000 third-country nationals obtained a residence permit or citizenship in the European Union through the ‘Golden passport’ and ‘Golden Visa’ programs, making total investments of at least 21.4 billion euros.
The European Court of Justice concludes that the so-called Golden Passes for rich foreigners are illegal. Malta thus loses an important source of income.
The system was a "security threat", according to the Tidö government. They themselves have handed out tens of thousands of Swedish passports to unknown people from the third world.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 41% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium