Cyprus Revokes 77 More Passports Granted Through Golden Passport Program

An additional 77 passports granted through the Golden Visa Passport of Cyprus have been revoked by the country’s authorities.

The Golden Passport program of Cyprus, which allowed wealthy non-EU nationals to acquire citizenship in exchange for financial investments, was officially terminated in 2020, Schengen.News reports. 

According to a report from Politico, among those affected are also Russian oligarch Alexei Kuzmichev, former FSB investigator Sergey Kovbasyuk, metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, as well as fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. 

Among the reasons cited for the revocation of these documents from these persons are criminal records, false declarations, and failure to meet naturalisation requirements. 

Previously, the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, approved a request from AKEL MP Irini Charalambidou, who asked for and received a list of providers who allegedly promoted problematic golden passports. 

Before the submission of the list to the Parliament, Ioannou secured approval from the Legal Service. However, the Minister of the Interior marked his letter as confidential, leading Charalambidou to publish the list. 

According to a report from Politico in October 2024, the Minister of the Interior, in his letter to the Parliament, cited three reasons for not submitting the mentioned list of names to the Parliament. 

In September of this year, Cyprus’ former Transport Minister, Marios Demetriades, was also charged with allegations of money laundering, bribery, and corruption related to the Golden Passport program.

However, in this regard, the Minister said that he was being made a scapegoat.

286 Citizenships Revoked Within 10 Years 
The number of revoked citizenships from this scheme since 2013, when the program was established, has reached 286. 

The Golden Passport Program of Cyprus brought significant contributions to this country since it was introduced. 

According to local reports, more than €7 billion were brought to Cyprus through the Citizenship by Investment Program, known as the Golden Passport Program. 

However, following a report by Al Jazeera which revealed that the scheme facilitated several irregular affairs such as money laundering, tax evasion and corruption, the program was terminated back in 2020.

Source: https://schengen.news/cyprus-revokes-77-more-passports-granted-through-golden-passport-program/