The Cypriot authorities withdrew the golden passport from 232 people, more than two years after Al Jazeera Network published an investigation revealing that Cyprus had granted citizenship to rich convicts in their country, allowing them to travel without a visa in the European Union.
Nicosia continues to investigate the granting of a Cypriot passport under suspicious circumstances.
Al-Jazeera's investigation revealed how a convicted criminal could obtain a European passport in Cyprus at the right price, as the investigation concluded that there was a two-track program for obtaining Cypriot citizenship by investment (the golden passport), and the investigative investigation broadcast in August 2020 showed involvement Senior officials of the Cypriot state in this matter.
Among the cases examined by the Al-Jazeera investigation was the case of a prominent hacker (internet pirate) who was wanted for stealing cryptocurrencies worth billions of dollars and obtained a Cypriot passport, and a businessman accused in a bribery case managed to buy a Cypriot passport despite being imprisoned.
Cyprus also granted a golden passport to a South American banker just 4 days before the United States announced he was the leader of an illegal $2.4 billion currency scam.
Since Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, Cypriot passport holders can travel without a visa to the EU countries, and due to the implementation of the citizenship-for-investment program of $2.5 million, this program has been popular among many criminals and those accused of money laundering, Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese and Cambodians.
By law, a criminal record must disqualify any convicted investor in his country of origin, but Al Jazeera investigations have proven the involvement of senior officials in corruption to bypass this requirement.