Henley & Partners has remained the promoter, administrator and operator of the controversial citizenship programme, despite indications to the contrary by the Prime Minister.
Various financial services practitioners, including large law and audit firms, contacted The Sunday Times of Malta saying they had received an ‘introducers form’ to fill in from Henley & Partners if they wished “to enter into a business relationship” with it over the scheme.
This authorisation enables the firm to conduct due diligence on them to become eligible to act as agents for the programme licensed by Identity Malta, a government agency.
The PM said Maltese agents will be on the same footing. This is not the case
“When he announced the changes, the Prime Minister went on record saying Henley & Partners would not retain exclusivity and Maltese agents will be on the same footing. This is not the case,” a commercial lawyer said.
According to the CEO of a financial services firm, it is clear that Henley & Partners is still totally in command of the programme and that Maltese firms will only act as their agents.
During a press conference in which the new rules of the programme were announced, Joseph Muscat specifically referred to “a revision” of the contract with Henley & Partners and said it would put agents on the same footing as other financial operators such as PwC and Deloitte.
However, a government spokesman said a revision would now not be necessary as “the original contract has enough latitude for changes in the conditions of the operation of the programme so as not to require material changes in the contract itself.”
A new legal notice, published on Christmas Eve, a day after Dr Muscat’s announcement, clearly shows its position remained intact.
It states that as ‘concessionaire’, Henley & Partners remained responsible for the design, implementation, administration, operation and promotion of the programme.
The legal notice also makes it clear the firm will be responsible for receiving the €650,000 contribution per application that will only be disbursed to Identity Malta “within five days of issuance of certificates (of naturalisation).”
Questions sent to the Ministry for Home Affairs to explain the difference between Henley & Partners and future Maltese financial services firms wanting to promote and sell the programme remained unanswered.
The ministry was also asked to specify what fees and commission will Henley & Partners be entitled to with every application and whether these would be the same for the other Maltese agents. No replies were received.
PN home affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi said the party was conscious of the latest “manoeuvres” by Henley & Partners and the government, and that “new so-called changes are nothing but another PR exercise”.
“For us it is clear that the party in government is exercising a labour of lies on this programme,” Dr Azzopardi said.
Calling for full transparency from the government through the publication of the full contract with Henley & Partners, Dr Azzopardi insisted that the PN had already announced that it would challenge the legal notice once it was tabled in Parliament.
A legal notice will enter into force 28 days after it is tabled in Parliament.
During that period any MP can table a motion to challenge it.