Russians lost "gold passports" in Europe because of attack on Ukraine - media

Cyprus has decided to cancel the citizenship of nine investors from the Russian Federation, as well as 34 members of their families. They came under the effect of sanctions that were introduced by the EU in connection with Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine. Malta, for her part, carried out confiscation of "gold passports" of two people. In these countries, the practice of naturalizing investors in exchange for large cash payments has been working for a long time.

Those who had such documents were given the opportunity to settle and do business in all EU countries. Cyprus required a large -scale investment to obtain the appropriate passport. Their size was at least 2. 5 million euros. From 2007 to 2020, according to the Cyprus government, it was possible to raise approximately 9. 7 billion euros.

Russia's large -scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the European Commission to declare the controversial practice illegal and declared recommendations to EU countries to consider the cancellation of such citizenship - especially if people are in the relevant EU sanction lists or support the aggressive war of Russia. The Brussels resort filed a lawsuit against Malta, and Cyprus has abandoned this practice.

According to the publication, the termination of the sale of "gold passports" by EU countries has already led to the fact that the Russians have found new paths to the EU. According to the EU Commission's findings, island states such as Vanuatus or Balkan countries, including Montenegro, have provided hundreds of citizens for large amounts of money. These passports allow you to enter the EU without a visa.