Cyprus Golden Passports: A Total Failure Of Checks And Balances

Cyprus Golden Passports: A Total Failure Of Checks And Balances

For years, European institutions were concerned about the Cyprus Investment Program and repeatedly asked the country's authorities to be transparent about it. In response, the Cypriot government reassured them that the program is crystal-clear and that there is no way for corrupted criminals to obtain European citizenship. When local and international media revealed that the fugitive Jho Low and relatives of Cambodia's authoritarian prime-minister, Hun Sen, had a Cypriot passport, the government answered that these cases were the exception.

A mock ballot box with Cyprus Passports reading "For Sale" is seen during a demonstration against ... [+] corruption outside the Filoxenia Conference Center, the current parliament location, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on October 14, 2020. (Photo by Christina ASSI / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTINA ASSI/AFP via Getty Images)