Filenews 25 May 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
When the Vietnamese investor applied for naturalization, he was wanted in his country for a serious criminal case and an arrest warrant was pending against him. At one point he was arrested and while in custody, his application in Cyprus was proceeding normally. When he was called by the competent authorities that were examining his application for naturalization to come to Cyprus, as his presence was required, the explanation was given that he was prevented from coming. But, the application went ahead and the Vietnamese while he was detained in Vietnam, in Cyprus he secured Cypriot citizenship [although this is disputed by the authorities].
It is the fourth case of the golden passports completed by the Police and handed over the relevant file to the Legal Service for study and instructions, and it fully reveals the looting that took place, but also the irresponsibility of those who had a responsibility to control and apply legislation and legal procedures.
The provider for his case was a law firm for which the Police proceeded to investigate whether criminal offences were committed behind the naturalization.
This case is one of more than 100 cases recorded in the conclusion of the Nicolatou Research Committee and was considered as high-risk.
The investigative team at the Criminal Investigation Department at the Police Headquarters that investigated the case, took statements from various persons, state agencies, the Central Bank and the law firm involved in securing a Cypriot passport and the finding is now in the Legal Service.
However, this case will be examined in parallel with the other three that are in the Legal Service and also concern naturalizations of foreign entrepreneurs and investors. The first relates to the Al Jazeera network revelations. The file has been in the Legal Service for some time. The other two cases that were completed, concern two providers who were law firms and were involved in naturalizations which were problematic. A case concerning the naturalization of two persons with a law firm involved is pending before a court in Larnaca.
Meanwhile, police investigators are close to filing in two more cases from the high-risk list and forwarding them to the Legal Service. One concerns a case in Paphos which has been under investigation for some time, however, due to legal impediments it was not possible to complete it and the other concerns another law firm.
