NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus said Wednesday it dismantled a criminal human smuggling ring responsible for bringing boatloads of Syrian migrants from Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. Andreou said the police raid also found 44 Syrian migrants living in those homes, all of whom are asylum seekers or have been accorded international protection status. Cyprus’ Interior Ministry had noted an increase in …
Several high-ranking Cypriot officials, politicians, lawyers and real estate developers are implicated in a scheme that allows criminals to buy a European passport using the country’s citizenship through an investment programme, an Al Jazeera investigation has found. Convicted Chinese businessman Cyprus’s citizenship through investment programme grants a Cypriot passport to anyone who invests at least $2.5m in the country, often …