Interim report on passport scheme handed over on April 6

The committee of inquiry looking into the now-defunct citizenship-by-investment (CBI) scheme will deliver its interim report to the attorney-general on April 6.

Committee chair and former judge Myron Nicolatos told news outlet Stockwatch the interim report will be voluminous, comprising more than 100 pages.

The dossier will cover cases from the start of the citizenship programme from 2007, up until 2016. But it will also feature some ‘high-risk’ cases dating up to 2020.

Nicolatos said the interim report will include cases flagged as potentially criminal in nature, which may necessitate further investigation by law enforcement.

“These cases may be made public, but without names or other data that could identify specific individuals.”

Earlier, Attorney–general Giorgos Savvides had said both the interim and final reports would be published, but in redacted form.

Among the persons testifying under oath before the panel were President Nicos Anastasiades, current and former government ministers, and public functionaries involved in the passport process.

The committee are investigating some 4,000 naturalisations granted under the controversial CBI, from its inception in 2007 to October 2020 when it was nixed.

The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Cyprus over the matter. Effectively the commission alleges that Cyprus was ‘selling’ passports to investors who did not have real bonds to the country.