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Posted by: Ilie Pîrvan
News / International
13 Jan. 2022 / 11:24
Bulgaria wants to suppress controversial "golden passports"
Bulgaria's new government, which has vowed to eradicate corruption, passed a bill on Wednesday aimed at suppressing controversial "golden passports", which allow citizenship in exchange for substantial investments, AFP and Agerpres reported.
The European Commission has repeatedly expressed concern about this practice and has even launched an infringement procedure against Malta and Cyprus. It also warned that the procedure poses risks to the EU, which are "particularly related to security, money laundering, tax fraud and corruption".
In June 2021, Brussels sent a letter to the Bulgarian authorities asking them to abolish these passports.
Under this program, which has been in place since 2013 and benefits mainly Chinese and wealthy Russians, foreigners who invest at least one million levs (500,000 euros) can obtain a permanent resident title, then citizenship, if they double this amount, and this without going through the difficult stages of a classic procedure.
However, the Bulgarian government detected irregularities in 47 cases, half of the total.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice cites in particular the case of some investors who resold the securities or a newly acquired property immediately after they were naturalized.
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's cabinet, in office since mid-December, therefore points to "the lack of real investment in the economy that could create jobs" to justify the abolition of "golden passports".
Last year, Washington sanctioned six Bulgarian citizens and 64 entities for their alleged "corrupt" role in the poorest EU country. Among them was an influential MP and former media mogul, Delyan Peevski, who was also accused by the US Treasury of launching a system for the rapid acquisition of citizenship by violating the legal procedure.
The bill, supported by much of the political class, has yet to be approved by parliament.
Bulgaria also wanted to abolish these "golden passports" in January 2019, but the initiative failed.
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