Not one, not two, but a total of 42 people have obtained a Cypriot passport, through the naturalization of Saudi Arabia Abdulrahman Mahfouz, whose name was involved in the private jet the President of the Republic traveled in the past.
During yesterday's discussion in the parliamentary Audit Committee, the General Auditor, Odysseas Michailidis stated that six other relatives (adults) had been naturalized with this particular Saudi, as well as 36 dependents. According to him, two of his brothers and one sister, as well as their spouses, acquired Cypriot citizenship through Saudi Arabia. It is worth mentioning that one of the Saudi brothers had two wives and a wife. Some deputies commented that we were naturalizing the ... harem of some investors. They also called on the Ministry of Interior to forward relevant information to Parliament.
At the same time, the General Director of the Ministry of Interior, Costas Konstantinou, answering questions submitted by MPs, stated that 18 of the 23 applications approved (after 2018) by express procedures (concerned executives of his investment casino in Cyprus. As he said, instructions were given to expedite the applications' examination because they concerned a large investment. Regarding this, Odysseas Michailidis announced in advance that he would proceed with an investigation of the matter.
At the same time, the Tax Officer Giannis Tsangaris stated that under the Tax Department's microscope are 300 intermediaries who provided services through the KEP to determine whether they have correctly implemented the legislation regarding taxes.
He also said that the dividing lines between whether VAT will be charged or not are thin, as are the lines between the type of service offered by intermediaries, i.e., whether these services are administrative or advisory.
In his intervention, the Ministry of Interior's general director stated that with the new data created by the recent change of the legal framework that governs the investment program, there is a reform in the issues of intermediaries. He also said that many would be removed from the register of service providers.