Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday that a future Nationalist government would review the investment programme being introduced by Labour and could even withdraw citizenships awarded to foreigners.

Dr Busuttil was speaking in Parliament during the debate on amendments to the Citizenship Act which provide for the Individual Investor Programme, under which foreign investors could become citizens of Malta for a fee of €650,000 after going through an evaluation process.

Parliamentary Secretary Edward Zammit Lewis later accused him of abuse and irresponsibility in making that statement.

The Opposition Leader said the scheme “stinks” and would cause irreparable harm to Malta, reducing it to the level of a tax haven. Foreigners, he said, would be given the possibility of buying citizenship for a relatively low price without even setting foot on Maltese soil or investing in the island.

He reiterated the Opposition’s call for the Government to publish the full contract with Henley & Partners, the concessionaire promoting the scheme.

The Opposition was against this Bill in principle since it believed that Maltese citizenship was invaluable and should not be sold.

However, once the Government was pushing though with the scheme, the Opposition was suggesting a number of proposals to amend it and find a suitable compromise. It was disappointing that the Government had not been open to discussion. He hoped that in the coming days the Government and Opposition could sit together to review the proposals and find a suitable compromise. Should an agreement not be reached, the Opposition reserved the right to revise the scheme once in government and would even consider withdrawing citizenship from persons who had acquired it through this scheme.

The scheme was unacceptable especially since it promoted the sale of citizenship without the need for investment. Even the title “citizenship by investment” was misleading because no investment was actually involved.

‘Hypocritical of PM to sell off passports’

The Government was pushing this scheme in haste to gain a quick buck and was not keeping in mind what citizenship really entailed: the love and bond with one’s country including its history and culture. Citizenship was not to be taken for granted. Doing so would be showing disrespect towards former leaders like George Borg Olivier and Dom Mintoff who had fought so hard for independence.

Selling citizenship would weaken sovereignty.

It was hypocritical that the Prime Minister, who had been against Malta’s accession to the EU, was now selling Malta’s passport which automatically granted European citizenship. Membership in the EU gave Maltese citizenship added value.

The Bill had provoked negative reactions from various sectors especially financial services practitioners. Furthermore, the Chamber of Advocates had slammed the scheme as causing “serious and irreparable damage” to Malta’s reputation. No country in Europe had resorted to such a haphazard scheme. The only countries that implemented such a scheme were in the Caribbean.

The Maltese scheme also included a despicable criterion which even the Caribbean had refused: applications would be processed by a private foreign company.

The scheme lacked transparency, raised a lot of questions and could damage Malta’s relationship with the EU and the US visa waiver programme. Selling Maltese citizenship might jeopardize this agreement, said Dr Busuttil.

He said that the fee of €650,000 was too low. The Government should procure more income through economic growth and investment and not through such schemes. There needed to be a limit on the number of citizenships to be granted every year.

It was also dangerous to have a concentration of power in the hands of the minister as this could lead to corruption and abuse.

It is dangerous to have a concentration of power in hands of a minister as this could lead to abuse

The Bill lacked transparency especially since the names of those who were to be granted citizenship would not be published. Was this because the Government had already been in contact with potential applicants?

Dr Busuttil again challenged the Government to publish the full contract with Henley and Partners. The scheme required further scrutiny especially from Parliament since it stank and lacked common sense.

The Opposition would be requesting that the committee stage of the Bill be conducted before the whole House so that all members could review every minimal detail before the vote.

Word had it that the Government would, in the coming days, be promoting this scheme abroad. This was indeed shameful since the Bill had not yet been approved.

On a different note, Dr Busuttil said he was satisfied with the court’s decision in favour of Norman Vella which clearly showed that the Government was gradually undermining democracy in Malta.

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