The evils of mankind are caused, not by the primary aggressiveness of individuals, but by their self-transcending identification with groups whose common denominator is low intelligence and high emotionality.
— Arthur Koestler, born in 1905
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The problems and scandals surrounding the sale of ‘Golden Passports’, which allows their holders unrestricted access to EU members states and dozens of countries, have been brought to the fore by Al Jazeera’s recent investigative report.
Wider issues with golden passports
As of summer last year, 3 EU member states, Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria, offered ‘citizenship-by-investment’ (golden passports) schemes and 20 EU member states, including the UK, offered ‘residence-by-investment’ schemes according to a report by the anti-corruption NGO Global Witness.
At that time, Tina Mlinaric, a campaigner at Global Witness said: “This exposes the whole of the EU to significant money laundering, tax evasion and corruption risks, as well as threatening its security.
“It’s also the case that these schemes are shrouded in secrecy so the impact is only understood when scandals hit the headlines, meaning the urgency of the issue is being ignored.”
In March 2018, Gold for Visa investigations by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) illustrated rampant sale of EU citizenship and residency to ultra-rich foreign investors with little scrutiny, transparency or due diligence.
Golden passports: the EU must act
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