Another case of a foreign investor being illegally issued with a 'golden' passport is drawing to a close in Cyprus.
This time the focus is on Mohamed Salem, an Egyptian who, together with his family, obtained Cypriot citizenship through an investment scheme and bought €2 million worth of property on the island. He is joined on the list of defendants by employees of the Zavos group and the Tsangarides law firm.
A court hearing took place recently, during which Salem's defence lawyer, Christia Kitrayotou, attempted to acquit him. Her defence was based on testimonies and evidence she had collected. However, she has so far failed to convince the judges that the suspects are innocent of the fraud. The court gave the defence lawyer time to submit written evidence. The final session was adjourned until 18 November, when the final results will be summarised and a verdict will be handed down.
Egyptian businessman Mohamed Abdelrahman Mohamed Salem obtained Cypriot citizenship under the Golden Passports programme by investing €2 million in a property in Limassol. It later emerged that the seller of the property had transferred €1,050,000 to Salem in UK accounts, raising questions about the true extent of the investment. The incident led to an investigation which revealed breaches of the naturalisation procedure.
It is recalled that Cyprus' investment programme has granted EU citizenship to thousands of foreigners.
The programme was originally designed to help the island state's economy recover from a prolonged crisis. Passports were issued in exchange for investments of up to €2 million in Cypriot property. The scheme was particularly popular with citizens of Russia and China.
In 2020, however, the Cypriot government scrapped the scheme in the wake of the scandalous Al Jazeera video. An investigation by the Qatari publication found that Cypriot passports were being obtained by criminals and those affected by international sanctions.
Under pressure from the EU, the island nation's government conducted its own investigation in 2021, which found that of the 6,779 passports issued between 2007 and 2020, more than half went to people who did not meet the programme's requirements. In addition, citizenship was granted to managers of foreign and Cypriot companies who were not investors and business owners.
It is worth noting that:
- Investors who are deprived of their citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus will not be refunded the registration fees they paid when applying.
- They will not be reimbursed for the financial costs of preparing the application package and the fees of lawyers and consultants.
- The properties they have acquired as a condition of citizenship will remain in their possession.
- Foreign investors who are deprived of their Cypriot citizenship have the right to challenge the decision of the Cypriot government in court.