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31. Cyprus Investment Program problematic from the start

Much ink has been spilled over the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP). From its inception in 2017 until its abolition, the CIP was a scheme wherein the Cyprus Government granted Cypriot citizenship to investors, "golden passports" as it is well-known....

32. Interior Ministry aware passport applications did not meet criteria

In the Audit Service's report on the naturalization program, references are made to the manner in which passports were granted, stressing that there were cases in which the Ministry was aware that there were applications that did not meet the criteria, characterizing its approval as illegal....

33. Fair State. Five proposals to fight corruption

In the Cyprus of 2022, corruption has permeated all levels of our society. The extent of the problem needs to be ascertained first. Then, the diagnosis of its causes. Finally, but most importantly, the specific proposals to combat it....

34. Four individuals charged with conspiracy in Al Jazeera expose

Four individuals have been charged with conspiracy and will appear before a criminal court in September for their role in granting citizenship to foreign investors who didn't quite meet the criteria....

35. Cabinet ends citizenship ordeal for mixed couple’s kids

The President’s Cabinet has granted citizenship to two siblings from a bicommunal mixed family, following criticism that their applications for identification cards were caught in a political stalemate for having a Turkish grandfather...

36. Cyprus frets ‘pandoramonium’ overshadowing good work

The Cypriot finance ministry says a European Parliament resolution on Pandora Papers and subsequent criticism by local opposition is overshadowing the amount of good work that has been done on the island against illegal activities, as some parties are calling on the president to step down...

37. Cyprus wants clean slate in naturalizations

The government in the Republic of Cyprus has laid out a new blueprint for naturalizations of foreign investors and skilled immigrants, pointing to a departure from the country’s disgraced golden passport scheme while respecting the EU position on citizenship criteria...

38. Jho Low wanted to be a Cypriot banker

A British investigative journalist told an audience in Nicosia that Cypriot-naturalized financier Jho Low had tried to use contacts with Kuwaitis to buy a bank on the island where the Malaysian fugitive could launder stolen money...

39. Legal defends blacked out passport report

The Legal department in the Republic of Cyprus has issued its final report on golden passports, but its decision to include privacy issues as a reason to black out information has come under media scrutiny...

40. Cyprus’ passport committee issues final report

Over half of the golden passports approved by the President’s Cabinet in the Republic of Cyprus were illegal, a special committee has found, and it is now up to the attorney general to ascertain whether any ministers may have had fraudulent intent...

41. Stars in Al Jazeera video face committee

42. Director wants passport probe clear his name

A civil servant, whose name was dropped by the former House speaker during a secret video recording by Al Jazeera, says he did not get involved with golden passports during his tenure as director of the interior ministry, vowing to take legal action if an investigative committee failed to clear his name...

43. Interim report on golden passports delivered

An interim report on the golden passport scandal in the Republic of Cyprus says just over half of citizenships granted by the executive branch were not approved lawfully...

44. Gloves are off again over golden passports

Cyprus’ auditor general told a House committee this week that the Cabinet used old rules to approve over two hundred golden passports after the cutoff date for an investigation ordered by the attorney general, who pushed back on the criticism saying there was 'no bottom to the abyss'...

45. Former AG says he cautioned over passports

The state’s former attorney general says his department had cautioned the government years ago that the country’s golden passport scheme might have been incompatible with European law, essentially contradicting the executive branch's position that nobody had said anything...

46. President blames CIP failure on recklessness

Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment Programme took a heavy toll after it was 'recklessly promoted' overseas, according to President Nicos Anastasiades, who testified on Tuesday before an independent committee, while telling reporters later that he would not revisit the matter until after probe findings are concluded...

47. Cyprus president testifies on golden passports

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is expected to testify on Tuesday before the independent committee probing corruption allegations in the country’s golden passport scheme, just days after he lashed out at critics during a national address on the fight against corruption...

48. Reporters to sit in on golden passport hearings

A number of reporters will be allowed from now on to attend ongoing probe hearings into alleged corruption in connection with Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment Programme, with journalists being asked to commit in advance not to breach data privacy laws...

49. Report says ministry was shuffling papers

An initial redacted report on golden passports made public in the Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday painted a picture of an Interior Ministry serving as a “filing office” without ability to examine cases in any meaningful way, with opposition crying foul over the committees’ selective method...

50. Redacted report on golden passports published

A redacted version of the Kalogerou report on golden passports is expected to be made public on Tuesday afternoon, amid criticism of the government from opposition parties calling for transparency in probing corruption allegations...

51. DIKO raises conflict of interest for AG

DIKO president Nicholas Papadopoulos has raised concerns over conflicts of interest for the state’s attorney general in connection with a golden passports investigation, following a statement from the Presidential Palace on publicizing some findings but not in their entirety...

52. Government ups rhetoric against auditor

The Cypriot government hinted over the weekend it might refer the auditor general to the Supreme Court over “indecent” behaviour, after the audit office published yet another damning report alleging offences in a Cabinet decision to grant investor passports to individuals linked to a casino project without meeting the criteria...

53. Al Jazeera turns attention to Jho Low

Cypriot-naturalized citizen Jho Low, the Malaysian fugitive financier whose golden passports came under scrutiny last year, was back in the news this week after Al Jazeera published a video with actual voice recordings of 'the biggest fish' seeking a way out of the 1MDB colossal scandal...

54. Foreign investors rush to meet deadline

Days before Cyprus’ Citizenship by Investment Programme is set to go offline, interior ministry officials and paralegals kicked things into high gear to handle the last batch of petitions by foreign investors before the programme ends on Sunday...

55. Attorney General calls Auditor ‘to order’

Cypriot Attorney General George Savvides issued a stern warning on Saturday, calling to order the state’s auditor general over his insistence on examining specific golden passport case files linked to a casino project on the island...

56. 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...

57. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

58. 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....

59. 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....

60. 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....