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The case did not take place in Hungary, but in Cyprus, where masses of white-collar criminals obtained an EU passport under a bond program very similar to the Hungarian one. In return, they paid millions of euros. An investigative report later revealed that the head of the house was also muddled in history, then suspended his office. In Cyprus there is already talk of ending the program.
Several high-ranking politicians, officials and construction contractors were involved in the case, which broke out in Cyprus and became known as the golden visa scandal. In the process, hundreds of dubious foreign businessmen managed to obtain Cypriot passports, allowing these people to travel and travel freely in the countries of the European Union. The case, which is very similar to the national settlement bond scheme that operates between 2013 and 2017, is Al Jazeera and the evidence that was released raised so much dust in the island nation that there has already been talk of suspending the program.
Similar to the Hungarian program, Cypriots started selling the so-called golden visa in 2013, which anyone could get, provided they invested at least 2.1 million euros in the country in return. The program has been so successful that since its inception, the government has generated nearly € 7 billion in revenue, which it has used largely to keep its economy afloat. Although the process itself was not against the law, it has received much criticism from the European Union over the years and various anti-corruption groups have raised their voices against the golden visas, but until evidence became available. concrete, the protests could not go beyond morality.
After that, however, it is also Al Jazeera after serious investigative work, the 1,400 official documents were leaked Cyprus Paperst, it fell short of the government having completely ignored the established rules and helped several white-collar criminals obtain documents.
Since one of the most obvious and attractive investment sectors for visa buyers was the real estate market, it was soon overtaken by visa holders, who then merged with the Cypriot elite shortly. It belongs to the latter Christakisz Giovanisz, one of the most influential real estate developers in the country, and Demetrius Silurian, the Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament, whose name has perhaps been heard more frequently since the scandal broke. One of them contacted one Club an incorporated male nickname who claimed to represent a Chinese businessman (otherwise non-existent) who needed a visa because he was sentenced to seven years in prison for money laundering. This last circumstance did not interest the decision makers at all, they only saw the future investor’s money in everything, and that too they told Billy.
They claimed they weren’t interested in their employer’s history as long as it contributed enough money to the country.
All of this was only confirmed by one of the staff of the Cyprus investment program, who assured the on-board agent that they already have a lot of experience in getting people who are persecuted elsewhere by the judiciary. He cited as an example a man who had been sitting up front for two years on suspicion of corruption and money laundering when one of his men applied to the Cypriot government for a visa. And they had the methods to clear up all contentious issues, so they soon issued the passport, which has been waiting for the man ever since, although the document has a different name.
Siluris and Giovanis tried to reassure Billy by telling him that every stone would be moved to obtain a passport for their headmaster, whose identity didn’t matter so much to them that they didn’t even follow who he really was, so they couldn’t even realize that they were handling the a man. that doesn’t even exist.
It will not be easy, but we will do everything. We already have enough experience in this field.
– confidently declared the property developer, who the president of the house had not yet developed:
Not to mention my name, but you can tell him that you enjoy the full support of Cyprus. At the political, economic and social level.
After all, it’s no wonder a huge scandal ensued as soon as the details were made public, and the fallout doesn’t seem to be out of the question either. After the scandal broke, the cabinet first switched to defensive mode and first argued that the state was making a lot of money from the program, and although in the past people who should not have been able to enter the country had slipped away, hardening laws in the future. will be eliminated. But they are already late with this explanation, which is well illustrated by the fact that the Speaker of the House has essentially fallen into scandal.
Siluris announced that he would suspend his position from October 19 until the investigation was completed and that he would be at the disposal of the authorities during the entire investigation. In any case, he did not announce that he would resign definitively, but at the same time he apologized to the people of the country. In addition, the government responded to the scandal and proposed the suspension of the gold visa program.
The matter has also not gone unnoticed on the continent, said a spokesman for the European Commission. Kasia kolanko He said, incredulous, that they saw senior officials doing business with EU citizens in the hope of making a profit, which is completely unacceptable. He also envisioned an EU investigation to see how consistent the EU and Cypriot regulations are. The spokesperson later Ursula von der Leyent He cited that EU securities are not for sale and therefore considers it essential to conduct an investigation.
the Al Jazeera his report on this topic can be viewed here:
Top image: Demetris Siluris, Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament. Photo: Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP
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