Cyprus is continuing to revoke “golden passports” issued under the island’s citizenship-by-investment program, which was abruptly ended in November 2020. The moves follow a detailed investigation by former Supreme Court judge Myron Nikolatos , whose 515-page report found that 51.81% of some 3,500 cases were issued in violation of the law.
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Main reasons for the revocation of “golden passports”
Revocation of citizenship is carried out for several key reasons:
- False statements and misleading information : Cases of false information being provided regarding marriage or investments have been identified.
- Criminal record : Some investors have been implicated in serious crimes such as fraud and corruption.
- Failure to meet the conditions for naturalization : for example, unfinished real estate projects or sale of assets immediately after obtaining citizenship.
Disclosure of information refusal
Despite calls for “transparency,” Minister Constantinos Ioannou refused to release the names of investors whose passports were revoked, citing privacy concerns, ongoing investigations and potential impact on court cases.
Publication of the list in the media
However, four days ago, the Greek newspaper Politis published a list of 77 foreign investors who had been stripped of their “golden passports.” Among them:
- Joe Low : Malaysian businessman accused of embezzling $4.5 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund was granted Cypriot citizenship in 2015.
- Oleg Deripaska : founder of Rusal and aluminum magnate.
- Igor Kesaev : owner of Mercury Group and Megapolis Group , shareholder of the Degtyarev Arms Plant.
- Mikhail Gutseriev : Safmar’s main shareholder Group .
- Alexey Kuzmichev : one of the founders of Alfa Group .
- Alexander Ponomarenko : construction magnate and former chairman of the board of directors of Sheremetyevo Airport.
- Vadim Moshkovich : Chairman of the agro-industrial company ” Rusagro ” and former State Duma deputy.
- Sergey Lomakin : co-founder of the Russian network Fix Price and the owner of the Cypriot football club Pafos FC.
The list also includes Ukrainian oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky and Oleg Bakhmatyuk , owner of the agro-industrial company UkrLandFarming . Some of the defendants, including Deripaska, Kesayev and Gutseriev, are under international sanctions.
New cases of citizenship revocation
According to Politis , the list does not include nine additional cases of investors who were recently stripped of their citizenship. Other suspicious cases are also being investigated. So far, 86 investors and their relatives, including spouses, children and parents, have been stripped of their “golden passports.”
The citizenship revocation process continues to attract international attention. Cyprus is seeking to restore its reputation by cracking down on abuses under the previous program.
