BRUSSELS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Wednesday it will provide guidance to EU states on how to manage national schemes to sell passports and residency permits to wealthy foreign citizens, as campaigners and lawmakers warned of money laundering risks.
Government schemes to trade citizenship or residence rights for large investment are currently applied in 13 EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and France. Hungary has terminated its programme.
The report said in Malta, which has raised 718 million euros from its scheme, applicants who have criminal records or are under investigation could still be considered eligible "in special circumstances".
Cyprus said last week it was suspending its citizenship-for- investment programme, ditching a scheme the government had acknowledged was open to abuse after an investigation by Al Jazeera, a media outlet.
Cyprus has raised 4.8 billion euros ($5.51 billion) from its scheme, while Portugal could earn nearly a billion euros a year, according to figures cited in the report, called "European Getaway - Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas".
"If you have a lot of money that you acquired through dubious means, securing a new place to call home far away from the place you stole from isn't just appealing, it's sensible," Naomi Hirst of rights group Global Witness said.
"Poorly managed schemes allow corrupt individuals to work and travel unhindered throughout the EU and undermine our collective security," Laure Brillaud, anti-money laundering expert at Transparency International, said.
The commission has refrained from launching legal actions against EU states that sell residence permits, also known as "golden visa schemes", without requiring investors to stay in the country for a meaningful period, despite a European Parliament resolution urging such a move.
Malta's Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said on Tuesday the country was replacing its current scheme with a new programme that would introduce tighter vetting of applicants, who will have to be residents of the islands for a year before their applications can be considered.
The Cypriot and Maltese governments have two months to take action. Without meaningful changes, the commission could refer them to the bloc's Court of Justice and ultimately it can ask the court to impose penalties. ($1 = 0.8467 euros) (Reporting by John Chalmers and Francesco Guarascio; additional reporting by Chris Scicluna in Valletta; Editing by Alex Richardson)
All the countries who run these schemes, except Britain, Cyprus, Ireland and Bulgaria, are part of the Schengen free-movement area which comprises 26 European states. ($1 = 0.8708 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alison Williams)
BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive said on Tuesday it was launching legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their investor citizenship programmes, also known as "golden passport" schemes.
EU states generated around 25 billion euros in foreign direct investment in a decade from selling at least 6,000 passports and nearly 100,000 residency permits, the report said using what it called conservative estimates.
The European Commission said the decision was taken because the two member states granted nationality - and thereby EU citizenship - without requiring "a genuine link with the country", as passport holders were not obliged to reside there.
The European Commission will publish a report on schemes in EU countries by the end of the year, commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Wednesday. He said the report would offer guidance to member states on managing the programmes, "including on necessary background checks for applicants".
The joint report by Global Witness and Transparency International urged the European Union to set standards for managing the schemes and to extend anti-money laundering rules, applied so far to banks or gaming firms, to all those involved in the visa-for-sale industry.
Government schemes to trade citizenship or residence rights for large investment are currently applied in 13 EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and France. Hungary has terminated its programme.The report said in Malta, which has raised 718 million euros from its scheme, applicants who have criminal records or are under investigation could still be considered eligible "in special circumstances".
Cyprus said last week it was suspending its citizenship-for- investment programme, ditching a scheme the government had acknowledged was open to abuse after an investigation by Al Jazeera, a media outlet.
Cyprus has raised 4.8 billion euros ($5.51 billion) from its scheme, while Portugal could earn nearly a billion euros a year, according to figures cited in the report, called "European Getaway - Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas".
"If you have a lot of money that you acquired through dubious means, securing a new place to call home far away from the place you stole from isn't just appealing, it's sensible," Naomi Hirst of rights group Global Witness said.
"Poorly managed schemes allow corrupt individuals to work and travel unhindered throughout the EU and undermine our collective security," Laure Brillaud, anti-money laundering expert at Transparency International, said.
The commission has refrained from launching legal actions against EU states that sell residence permits, also known as "golden visa schemes", without requiring investors to stay in the country for a meaningful period, despite a European Parliament resolution urging such a move.
Malta's Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said on Tuesday the country was replacing its current scheme with a new programme that would introduce tighter vetting of applicants, who will have to be residents of the islands for a year before their applications can be considered.
The Cypriot and Maltese governments have two months to take action. Without meaningful changes, the commission could refer them to the bloc's Court of Justice and ultimately it can ask the court to impose penalties. ($1 = 0.8467 euros) (Reporting by John Chalmers and Francesco Guarascio; additional reporting by Chris Scicluna in Valletta; Editing by Alex Richardson)
All the countries who run these schemes, except Britain, Cyprus, Ireland and Bulgaria, are part of the Schengen free-movement area which comprises 26 European states. ($1 = 0.8708 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alison Williams)
BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive said on Tuesday it was launching legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their investor citizenship programmes, also known as "golden passport" schemes.
EU states generated around 25 billion euros in foreign direct investment in a decade from selling at least 6,000 passports and nearly 100,000 residency permits, the report said using what it called conservative estimates.
The European Commission said the decision was taken because the two member states granted nationality - and thereby EU citizenship - without requiring "a genuine link with the country", as passport holders were not obliged to reside there.
The European Commission will publish a report on schemes in EU countries by the end of the year, commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Wednesday. He said the report would offer guidance to member states on managing the programmes, "including on necessary background checks for applicants".
The joint report by Global Witness and Transparency International urged the European Union to set standards for managing the schemes and to extend anti-money laundering rules, applied so far to banks or gaming firms, to all those involved in the visa-for-sale industry.
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