Foreign
THE former President of the Cypriot parliament, Demetris Syllouris, with former politician, two lawyers, were on Monday charged with corruption and conspiring against the state of Cyprus over the “golden passports” scandal.
The scheme came to light two years ago after a video secretly filmed by broadcaster, Al Jazeera implicated Syllouris in plan to help a Chinese man facing prison due to money laundering attain Cypriot citizenship.
The video prompted the resignation of Syllouris and another parliamentarian.
The Cypriot passport programme, which had also been used by a large number of Russian citizens, was subsequently closed, partly due to pressure from the EU.
Cyprus had offered applicants a so-called golden passport for people who had invested at least €2.5 million ($2.5 million) in Cyprus.
Cyprus has been an EU member country since 2004, and its passports therefore offer freedom of movement and labour within the whole of the EU.
In August, an investigation in Cyprus found that the scandal runs even deeper.
Between 2007 and 2020, 3,517 people and 3,810 of their close relations received Cypriot citizenship.
However, a large number of these passports were given illegally.
The Cypriot press further reported that people were expected to be charged.(dpa/NAN)
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Tags: Al Jazeera Demetris Syllouris
