The Maltese government has retracted the controversial confidentiality clause in its cash-for-citizenship scheme, saying it will disclose the identities of people purchasing EU passports.
The withdrawal of the secrecy clause occurred "after listening
to the people," according to a government statement issued
late Sunday.
On Sunday, the opposition queried whether or not the government
would issue “secret passports” before the law is changed.
“I can assure that there will be no secret passport. There
will be no abuse of this gap period,” Deputy Prime Minister
Louis Grech said.
It was announced last week that the island nation plans to
sell EU passports for 650,000 euro each (US$875,000)
as part of a law aimed at bringing cash and investment into the
country. The government had argued that the initial plan to keep
the buyers’ identities secret would have brought in more money.
However, the opposition argued that keeping the names anonymous
might expose Malta to criminals and terrorists.
The plan to attract more investment to Malta was approved last
week and is expected to come into effect when published as a
legal notice.
It will grant those who purchase the passports the right to
reside in any of the other 27 EU member states.
The country’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, said last week that
the plan is expected to attract “high value” individuals
from around the world who can then invest in the island. He said
that 45 potential applicants would raise the country around 30
million euro.
Henley and Partners, the company that will be in charge of
processing the paperwork, estimated that the deal will attract up
to 300 people annually.
Those who are granted passports can then purchase citizenship for
their immediate family for just 25,000 euro ($33,600) per family
member.