Reuters — Tuesday 20 October 2020
The European Union’s executive launched legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their investor citizenship programmes, which allow wealthy foreigners to buy EU citizenship in exchange for investments of around €1-2 million. The European Commission said the decision was taken because the two member states granted nationality without requiring “a genuine link with the country,” as passport holders were not obliged to reside there. “There cannot be a weak link in EU efforts to curb corruption and money laundering,” said Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova. Cyprus said last week it was suspending its citizenship-for-investment programme after an Al Jazeera investigation exposed abuses. Both states have two months to take action before being referred to the EU Court of Justice.