Panayiotis Rougalas
The Cyprus Investment Program, also known as the passport program, brought in €11.17 million for the Cyprus Land Development Corporation between 2019 and 2022.
More specifically, the Cyprus Investment Program received 900,000 euros, 1.77 million euros, 5.97 million euros, 2.52 million euros, and 2.52 million euros in annual revenue from the passport program in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
It should be noted that the Cyprus Land Development Corporation's revenues in 2022 were derived from investor applications that were approved in 2020 and 2021.
In response to questions posed by MP Alexandra Attalidou about the process for verifying the funds required for investing in the passport program, the Minister of Interior responded in writing on January 31, 2023, saying that the Ministry of Finance verified the fulfillment of the Cyprus Investment Programme's (CIP) investment requirements and sent opinions to the Ministry of Interior.
In his written response to the Parliament, Mr. Nouris noted that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 111A of the Constitution, the Ministry of Finance's opinions were always included in the Proposal to the Council of Ministers, a copy of which was always sent to the House of Representatives.
Regarding the process for verifying the payment of the required contributions, it is stated that the Ministry of Interior required the investor(s) to provide the Ministry with supporting documents proving the payment of the contributions before issuing the naturalization certificate and subsequently granting Cypriot citizenship.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifically stated in its written response that it required the submission of copies of the transfers of the contributions' amounts from the bank accounts of the investors to the bank accounts of the organizations that were the recipients of the contributions, as well as documentation of the organization's payment of the contributions. It should be noted that the Ministry of Interior delayed issuing the naturalization certificate until the supporting paperwork demonstrating the payment of the contributions was received.
Finally, the Minister told Ms. Attalidou that the Ministry of the Interior did not have jurisdiction over the State's related tax revenue or the income of other organizations, such as the Research and Innovation Foundation, the Industry and Technology Agency, the Renewable Energy Sources Fund, and the National Solidarity Fund.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
