Search

391. Judge in Cypriot passport probe resigns

Retired Supreme Court Judge Costas Pampallis has resigned from his position as a member of an indepednent investigative committee, a team that was tasked to sift through Cyprus’ golden passport scheme in the wake of corruption scandals and systemic failures...

392. MOKAS refutes lawyer claim in passport scandal

The Republic of Cyprus’ Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) has weighed in on the passport scandal following Al Jazeera’s earth-shuttering investigative report on corruption in the island’s Citizenship by Investment programme...

393. Commission slams Cyprus over passports, mulls infringement procedures

The European Commission expressed “disbelief” over new revelations concerning Cyprus’ investment for citizenship scheme, saying that the body is looking into infringement procedures for Nicosia. ...

394. House speaker offers public apology

House Speaker Demetris Syllouris says his mind is made up regarding his position in parliament but will abstain from duties and announce his decision after the conclusion of a probe into passport corruption...

395. Cyprus suspends golden passport programme

The Republic of Cyprus announced unexpectedly on Tuesday that the current Citizenship by Investment Programme would be abolished, following an emergency Cabinet meeting a day after Al Jazeera published a secret video alleging corruption in the island’s golden passport scheme...

396. Probe launched against Al Jazeera operation

The state attorney ordered a probe following a complaint filed by high-profile Cypriot officials targeted by an Al Jazeera secret investigation on corruption, with members of the public outraged as more shocking revelations emerged in a new Cyprus Papers video...

397. Al Jazeera strikes again at Cyprus Papers

Al Jazeera’s investigative unit struck again on Monday with new Cyprus Papers material, involving a report accompanied by a one-hour video depicting undercover reporters who visited Cyprus and posed as representatives of an imaginary ultrarich investor, Mr X, who was convicted for palm-greasing and money laundering, to ‘test’ whether local authorities would still be willing accept his hefty investment and provide him with Cypriot citizenship....

398. Passport revocation inquiries move forward

Cypriot authorities have identified seven individuals or foreign investors who could potentially be stripped of their Cypriot citizenship, after an internal probe pointed to forged documents or misleading information during the golden passport application process...

399. Cabinet approves revocation of seven citizenships

The Cabinet on Wednesday gave the green light for the initiation of the process for the revocation of Cypriot citizenship granted to seven persons through the Investment Program. ...

400. Wealthy Britons turn to Cypriot citizenship

Interest in additional citizenships by British entrepreneurs is rising even as the European Commission examines possible steps to curb EU states selling passports and visas to wealthy foreigners, due to concerns it can help organized crime groups...

401. Bad blood continues over golden passports

A prolonged and bitter dispute between the interior minister and auditor general, over probing Cyprus’ golden passports scheme, was renewed this week following a mini report with details on a number of applications through citizenship by investment...

402. Von der Leyen: rule of law violations through 'golden passports' won't be tolerated

The European Commission has prepared the first annual report the rule of law in EU member states, to be published later in September, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said Wednesday, indirectly referring to the Cyprus Investment Program....

403. Yiolitis clarifies role in passport applications

Cypriot Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis has issued a statement on Twitter concerning her involvement in “golden passports” applications during the time when she was a founding partner at a law firm...

404. Thousands protest after Greek refugee camp burns down

Thousands of protesting refugees and migrants left homeless on the Greek island of Lesbos after fires destroyed the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp gathered on a road leading to the island's main town Friday, demanding to be allowed to leave....

405. Police request for 'golden passports' documents from Parliament unconstitutional, lawyers say

Lawyers from whom Parliament requested advice after law enforcement officials said they would crack down on the Cyprus Papers whistleblower(s) said Parliament’s non-compliance with police requests for documents relating to the investment scheme is reasonable, as such a request is “not constitutionally legitimate”....

406. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

407. AG announces makeup of new committee to probe passports scheme

Attorney General George Savvides announced the members of the newly-established four-member committee tasked with probing the entire length of the Cyprus Investment Program, which was introduced in 2007....

408. Cyprus to strip seven of citizenship granted through investment scheme

The Republic of Cyprus has begun the process of stripping seven people of Cypriot citizenship granted through the Cyprus Investment Program after a special committee found them in violation of current stricter criteria, President Nicos Anastasiades said in an interview with AFP on Friday. ...

409. Politics turn ugly over Cyprus Papers

The main left party opposition in the Republic of Cyprus is firing back at the government, after reports emerged over threats and a confidential letter about Cypriot golden passports a decade earlier...

410. New committee to probe entire length of Cyprus Investment Program

The Cabinet on Thursday agreed to appoint an independent investigative committee to look into all passports granted through the Cyprus Investment Program from 2008 until July this year, when stricter rules were implemented....

411. Cabinet throws ball in attorney general’s court

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is calling on the state’s attorney general to appoint yet another committee to probe golden passport applications to settle a dispute between the auditor general’s office and the interior ministry over the “Cyprus Papers”...

412. Golden passports scheme to remain as is

The citizenship-by-investment program will not be terminated, nor will it be suspended for a short period as a way of managing the crisis developing crisis, the government decided during its Tuesday morning coffee at the Presidential Palace. What was strongly tabled was that a potential freezing or termination of the investment program at this point in time would send a message that the government is acting in light of the Al Jazeera publications, and that by extension, that it accepts them....

413. Fierce battle over ‘Cyprus papers’

A fierce battle over documents has began following Al Jazeera’s “Cyprus papers” on golden passports, with the audit office demanding to examine specific files and the interior ministry refusing to hand them over...

414. Curtain rising for citizenship-by-investment program

The Presidency has before it four scenarios for dealing with the issue of purchased citizenships. The most likely possibility is that of suspending the investment program for a short period, as revealed by Kathimerini on Sunday....

415. House President calls for suspension of 'golden passports' scheme

House President Demetris Syllouris has formally suggested to President Nicos Anastasiades that the Cyprus citizenship-by-investment scheme is paused until decisions for its improvement or even complete termination are taken, and called for a meeting of party leaders to discuss the scheme that has recently attracted international attention after a document leak led to a series of articles and videos published by the media network Al Jazeera....

416. EU mulls legal action against Cyprus 'golden passports'

The foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week been publishing a series of articles and videos on the murky side of the Cyprus ‘golden passports’ program after it was leaked classified documents, reported that the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders is looking into the possibility of legal action against Cyprus....

417. Cyprus takes a stab at Al Jazeera 'propaganda'

The daily publication of reports by the foreign media network Al Jazeera targeting the Cyprus citizenship-for-investment programme after gaining possession of over 1,400 leaked documents has sent the Cyprus government rushing to set the record straight....

418. Al Jazeera journalist denies political motives

Cypriot Interior Minister Nikos Nouris is expected on Wednesday to provide answers to Al Jazeera’s “golden passports” story, while the network has rejected accusations of political motives behind the story...

419. Cyprus police looking into Al Jazeera document leak

Cyprus law enforcement officials have been investigating since June 3 how the foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week published a series of articles and videos on the island’s citizenship-by-investment program, got hold of the leaked documents on which it built its exposé....

420. Cyprus 'golden passports' under more scrutiny

A foreign investigative report says leaked documents from the Republic of Cyprus suggest the island’s government violated its own rules in granting “golden passport” citizenships, with Cypriot officials denying the accusations and raising credibility issues over the report...