Maltese Golden Passports Open Access to EU to Super-Rich Russians, Chinese, Saudis

Super-rich Russians, Chinese and Saudis have secured unrestricted access to the EU via a Maltese cash-for-passports scheme that requires them to spend less than three weeks in the country, a leak from a passport brokerage has revealed.

The cache of thousands of emails and documents from Henley & Partners provides an unprecedented window into the mechanics of so-called "golden passport" schemes, whereby countries sell citizenship to wealthy foreigners.

The leak reveals how some applicants seeking to buy a Maltese passport through a government investor scheme were able to create a pretence that they were "resident" in the country for a full year by renting apartments and then leaving them empty.

The loophole enabled some customers, who pay more than €1m under the scheme, to successfully claim they had a "genuine link" to Malta - a key legal requirement - while spending just a couple of weeks holidaying there and making a few other superficial gestures such as renting a yacht or donating to a local charity.

The disclosures are likely to alarm the European commission, which recently initiated the opening steps of potential legal proceedings against Malta over its sale of golden passports. The commission has accused Malta of selling citizenship - which enables full access to the EU - to individuals with little or no connection to the country.

The Maltese government rejects any suggestion that its residency requirement is a sham. It argues that it, rather than the EU, has the final legal say over who can be issued with a passport, and that applicants are security-checked before receiving a residence permit.

But Henley's files reveal that in the early years of the scheme, many applicants told the government upfront that they...