PN MEP David Casa has written to the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, asking for the suspension of the passport for sale scheme.
The call came after a Parliamentary debate yesterday, during which more information about the system’s lack of due diligence emerged.
During the debate, PN MP Karol Aquilina said there are five people known to have bought a Maltese citizenship, who are accused of fraud, trafficking and criminality. “This is the talent we have brought to Malta,” he told MPs.
The issue was taken to an EU level by Casa, who, in a letter to Jourova said fresh and legitimate concerns had been raised in the due diligence processes being carried out in screening foreign nationals buying citizenship through the IIP.
In his letter, Casa said that “following numerous stories regarding irregularities in the sale of Maltese citizenship over the past weeks, which even led to the suspension of a leading citizenship-selling law firm over leaked footage of claims of collusion with top government officials, it has come to light that a fifth person purchasing Maltese citizenship in the past twelve months, has been charged with criminal offences.”
The most recent case, Casa said, involves Israeli citizen Anatolu Hurgin, who made use of this purchasing scheme in 2016, and is facing serious fraud charges in both Israel as well as the US.
Quoting from media reports, the MEP said Hurgin faces charges related to offences of fraud, smuggling and money laundering ‘on a significant scale’ in Israel, with his companies being raided by local police.
Charges in relation to violation of federal fraud legislation have also been issued in the US.
“Mr Hurgin also faced class action lawsuits against him during the period within which he was awaiting confirmation of his Maltese and EU citizenship in 2016; lawsuits in relation to violation of the US Securities Act. Despite the above, the Maltese agency which handles and approves Maltese citizenship sales failed to flag these matters and duly awarded Mr Hurgin full citizenship in 2016.”
Casa said this matter raises fresh and legitimate concerns in the due diligence processes being carried out in screening foreign nationals who wish to purchase European citizenship through this increasingly controversial scheme as well as the extent to which such due diligence processes have been “intentionally compromised.”
“Time and time again we have seen countless examples of the scheme going wrong. The ramifications of this are serious. With this scheme and similar ones in other Member States, Europe is opening its doors to people who intend to use their newly-acquired citizenship to further their criminal actions, and openly inviting an increase in money laundering and organised crime,” he continued.
“The many promises made by the Maltese government in relation to this scheme have been futile, and not only has the scheme not been made more stringent, but the situation seems to be getting worse on a daily basis. I believe I speak on behalf of the majority of concerned citizens, within Malta as well as other Member States, when I call for the suspension of these passport-selling schemes, and for action to be taken to mitigate the consequences already in effect as a result of this.”
