Cyprus’s dirty secrets

A leak of confidential files reveals how Cyprus became a haven for the world’s elite and poses a threat to EU security. A ‘golden’ passport Pham Nhat Vu is one of thousands who paid to receive Cypriot citizenship under a citizenship-by-investment scheme, and features on the list of those revealed in The Cyprus Papers, a huge leak of official documents obtained by the Investigative Unit. The Cypriot government has long considered what is today known as the Cyprus Investment Programme to be a major revenue stream – some estimates say it has generated about $8bn – and it is no surprise that it was ramped up in 2013 following the worst financial crisis in the Mediterranean country’s history. For those with money to spare, the advantages that come with a “golden” Cypriot passport are clear: the ability to deposit their money in European bank accounts and live, work and travel freely not only in Cyprus, but across all 27 European Union nations, and visa-free travel to 176 countries – all at the “reasonable” price of a minimum investment of about $2.5m, most of which must be spent on real estate. Even before The Cyprus Papers, much has been written about Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs who have bought Cypriot citizenship, including Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire businessman close to President Vladimir Putin.