Opposition demands publication of recipients of golden passport

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said the PN will demanding amendments to the Individual Investor Programme, amongst them calling for the publication of the names of the naturalized citizens who pay €650,000 for a Maltese passport.

"The names of the beneficiaries of the IIP must reflect Labour's real electoral call for transparency, and must be disclosed and scrutinized," Busuttil said today, after a bill amending the Malta Citizenship Act passed from a second reading.

Busuttil insisted Friday evening that the Nationalist Party would only accept the IIP if the government reverts from its obstinate stance and adopts amendments proposed by the Opposition.

With the Opposition and the government in a tug-of-war over the citizenship scheme, it will be up to both sides tomorrow to present amendments in the plenary.

Busuttil said that amongst the PN's amendments to the bill, will be a call for the disclosure of names benefitting from the "sale of the Maltese identity".

"In order for a person to qualify for the scheme, the government must ensure that beneficiaries have been residing in Malta for at least five years, and the awarding of the citizenship must not be against a mere donation but on account of their investment and work," Busuttil said.

He also called for the government to accept his party's amendments and agree to reach consensus. "The Opposition is prepared to extend the hand of friendship and table various amendments, and if accepted, the PN will accept the scheme."

While insisting that the Opposition's stance was based on principle, Busuttil warned he was not excluding anything if the government presents an obstinate stance.

"If the amendments are not accepted by the government and the IIP scheme goes forward as planned, the PN, when in government, will repeal the scheme and revoke the passports by this dirty scheme which solely facilitates the sale of the Maltese citizenship."

Quashing suggestions that repealing IIP citizenship would be unconstitutional, Busuttil insisted that at present, one could only be naturalised through marriage and consequently, any other acquisition of the citizenship would be illegal.

"The reports quoting the Attorney General, who is in principle a representative of the government, and of Professor Ian Refalo lamenting the alleged unconstitutionality are immaterial. Despite their stance, the scheme will remain a negative one that rewards those with big pockets rather than those who rightly provide investment."

Taking a swipe at PL's electoral slogan Malta Taghna Lkoll (Malta for all), Busuttil said that Maltese citizenship was everybody's, "not just Joseph Muscat's."

"The Prime Minister is working towards marring Malta's strong reputation and identity, a reputation which has been built over the years through the work of PN governments."

Busuttil also underlined that through the implementation of this scheme, Malta would end up worse than Caribbean countries like St Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua, where he claimed "individuals with deep pockets buy citizenship to evade the law".