Citizenship sales have so far generated €76 million for a special development fund, a figure far short of the €1.5 billion that passport scheme operators Henley and Partners have said are already ‘committed’.
The Finance Ministry said money is being held by the Treasury and Identity Malta in ring-fenced accounts as the fund was still in the process of being set up.
The amount has not changed since October last year when the Prime Minister first gave an indication of the money received from the Individual Investor Programme, referred to as the passport-for-cash scheme.
“Funding earned from the IIP and which has already been transferred to government by Identity Malta for onward transmission, eventually, to the Development and Social Fund is being ring-fenced in a below-the-line account at the Treasury,” the Finance Ministry said.
The account contains more than €54.9 million. Another €20.8 million are being held by Identity Malta for eventual transfer to the fund, a spokesman added.
Regulations set out that 70 per cent of the contributions received by Identity Malta from the IIP shall be paid to the National Development and Social Fund. Acting as a sovereign wealth fund, the money it holds will not be included as income for public finance purposes.
The fund is to be administered by a board of governors chaired by former Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry president David Curmi. A fortnight ago, Mr Curmi told this newspaper the fund was “a work in progress”. A call for applications for CEO of the fund closed yesterday.
At minimum, applicants have to pay €650,000 and buy property worth at least €350,000
Henley and Partners, the agency that devised the scheme, reported last week that 1,112 applications were being processed or had been concluded since 2014. It said the country had netted “a commitment” of more than €1.5 billion.
At minimum, applicants have to pay €650,000 and buy property worth at least €350,000. They can also opt to rent property, with the minimum being set at law. They also have to invest in government bonds. Donating money to charitable organisations earns applicants extra points. These amounted to €1 million over the past two years.
The passport programme for wealthy foreigners is capped at 1,800 applications, with Henley and Partners group chairman Christian Kälin saying that the limit could be reached before the end of the first quarter of next year.