Citizenship programmes in Malta

20.3.2018

Question for written answer E-001707-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz (ALDE)

Several EU Member States have adopted ‘citizenship by investment’ programmes. In Malta, for example, citizenship can be acquired through three different programmes, the Individual Investor Programme (IIP) being the most widely known. The absolute secrecy that surrounds transactions for the acquisition of citizenship is worrisome, since it facilitates money laundering schemes.

The Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia investigated these issues and condemned the irregularities in the procedures for granting Maltese nationality, the lack of transparency and the links to money laundering operations and financial crime. Before being murdered, she published leaked documents concerning alleged cases of money laundering that involved Maltese public officials.

Considering the aforementioned and the fact that the right to circulate and reside freely within the EU cannot become, under any circumstances, a commodity, could the Commission please answer the following:

Has it put in place an investigation into the Maltese case based on the denunciations and the information revealed by the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia?

What initiatives does it plan on taking to prohibit these programmes that offer citizenship in exchange for money?