Brazilian footballers were seen as potential Maltese passport buyers, leaked e-mails in the Panama Papers show.
An internal e-mail exchange between the Panama firm Mossack Fonseca’s offices in Uruguay and Malta spoke of the interest the country’s ‘cash-for-passports’ scheme could generate in the Brazilian market.
In an e-mail, a Mossack Fonseca Malta employee spoke of a meeting he had with a client who was interested in acquiring a Maltese passport. The client met Nexia BT’s Karl Cini at the Hilton Hotel last summer to learn more about the “advantage of using Maltese companies in various business activities”. The client was seeking assistance in opening up a bank account in Malta for such business activities.
Nexia BT held an interest in Mossack Fonseca Malta and is a registered agent for the cash-for-passports scheme.
The e-mail in question says that, apart from the client’s personal interest in the cash-for-passports scheme, he also saw potential in the Brazilian market and “possibilities with football players”.
The last e-mail communication about the client was made last October, and it is not known whether any Brazilian football stars will make their way to Malta to satisfy the cash-for-passports scheme’s residency requirements.
Mossack Fonseca told clients around the world the scheme’s residency requirements were some of the easiest to satisfy.
The Panama firm pointed out to a prospective client that the requirements were far from stringent
In one e-mail, the Panama firm pointed out to a prospective client that the requirements were far from stringent. “While the requirement for residency is not linked to a specific number of days [underscored as per original e-mail], some presence in Malta is required,” it said.
Through the Individual Investor Programme, Malta sells passports to wealthy foreigners for €650,000. Passport applicants are also bound to buy or rent property and invest in government bonds to the tune of €115,000.
A national and social development fund financed by cash from the scheme is still “a work in progress”, according to its head.
David Curmi, a former president of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, told the Times of Malta the board of governors was putting in place the necessary infrastructure to get the fund going.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said last October the fund already contained €75 million from the sale of passports.
The fund is expected to administer about €1 billion the government believes will be generated through the scheme.
The Panama Papers have been made available to the Times of Malta through an investigative partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
