How relatives and allies of Cambodia’s ‘iron fist’ leader gained Cypriot citizenship
By Clare Baldwin and Andrew RC Marshall Cambodia’s long-ruling prime minister, Hun Sen, had gathered athletes at his imposing office for a televised pep talk....
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New criteria for passport scheme come into force next week
THE NEW criteria for the citizenship by investment scheme, which were approved by the Council of Ministers in February and will include the carrying out...
Scramble for Cypriot passports as tighter rules loom
Foreign nationals are reportedly scrambling to acquire Cypriot passports via the citizenship-by-investment scheme, ahead of tighter criteria kicking in on May 15. According to daily...
Cyprus’ golden visas display traits of a tax haven, say MEPs
A report by a special European Parliament committee on financial crime and taxation has named Cyprus and six other member states as displaying traits of...
President says will step down if shown to have links to passport sales
President Nicos Anastasiades said he would resign if it was determined that he was involved in the sale of passports as part of the island’s...
MPs pass law giving them a say over golden visas
The House on Friday passed a law giving MPs a say over honorary naturalisations and on who could be granted golden visas. The law will...
Damning report on golden visas ‘inaccurate’
A damning European Commission report regarding the island’s citizenship-by-investment programme did not portray an accurate picture as it failed to take into account the changes...
EU sees crime risks from Malta, Cyprus schemes to sell passports (Updated)
The European Commission will warn that schemes in EU states to sell citizenship or residence to wealthy individuals could help foreign organised crime groups infiltrate...
‘A new bubble in the making’
Cyprus could be inflating another property bubble through the citizenship-by-investment programme, and at a time when such extraordinary policies are no longer necessary, distinguished economist...
‘Unfair for Cyprus to be singled out for golden visa criticism’
It is unfair for Cyprus to be singled out for its citizenship-by-investment programme, while other EU countries have similar schemes in place, President Nicos Anastasiades...
Almost 2,500 applications filed for ‘golden visas’
From May 2013 until August of this year, 2,390 applications were filed by law firms and accounting firms on behalf of foreign nationals seeking Cypriot...
Golden visa funds could be used for subsidising rents
The government said on Monday it is open to the idea of channelling a portion of the proceeds from the citizenship-by-investment scheme to funding a...
In defence of citizenship-by-investment programmes
By Bruno L’ecuyer The Investment Migration Council (IMC) understands the motivation behind the OECD’s recent analysis and guidance regarding the purported circumvention of the Common...
Fiscal council warns against complacency
Staff reporter Cyprus must not get complacent despite improving public finances and the stabilisation of the banking sector, the Fiscal Council cautioned on Thursday. At a...
EU commissioner on citizenship sale fact-finding visit (Updated)
The European Commission plans to issue recommendations to member states selling citizenship in return for investment in November, the EU justice and gender equality commissioner...
Greens want to boost transparency in citizenship by investment scheme
By Elias Hazou Green party MP Giorgos Perdikis plans to table a proposal aimed at boosting transparency with regard to the citizenship by investment scheme....
Cyprus ready for scrutiny of Golden Visa scheme says Georgiades
Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said the government is ready to provide information related to its controversial citizenship-by-investment scheme and have it scrutinised together with that...
Russian businessman gains Cypriot citizenship
Well-known Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska has received a Cypriot passport as part of the government’s scheme to allow investors to obtain citizenship, The Guardian reported...
Our View: Nothing sinister about citizenship for investors programme
THE GUARDIAN report about the citizenship by investment programme, introduced by the Cyprus government in 2013 to attract foreign funds, understandably caused an uproar on...
The impact of citizenship on tourism
By Micha-Rose Emmett In presenting Cyprus’ budget for 2016, Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos announced that the country’s citizenship by investment programme had yielded €2.5 billion...
