Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1044434
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2018 NEWS PRELIMINARY MARKET CONSULTATION Identity Malta Agency would like to notify the general public that it is receiving offers for the leasing of office premises. The said premises must be either readily available to move in or in the final stages of comple�on. Submissions for the Preliminary Market Consultation will be received through the ePPS system on www.etenders.gov.mt and the deadline for submissions is Wednesday 7 th November 2018 at 09:30AM. The document containing all necessary informa�on can be downloaded for free from www.etenders.gov.mt and any clarifications or addenda to the said document will be uploaded and made available on the same website within the stipulated period. Adv. No. IMA-2018/PMC004: Preliminary Market Consultation for Rental of Office Premises for the Identity Malta Agency Identity Malta Agency, Onda Building Triq Aldo Moro Marsa MRS 9065, Malta Late submissions will not be considered. MATTHEW VELLA OVER 100 registered NGOs have benefitted from a total 624 donations from buyers of the Maltese passport under the Individual Investor Pro- gramme. The value of all donations amounts to some €3.8 million, according to updated data from the parliamentary secre- tariat for reforms and citizen- ship. The information comes in the wake of renewed scrutiny of Malta's golden passport scheme, which sells citizenship to the global rich for €650,000, apart from instilling a property and investment commitment. Although portrayed as a sign of altruism, charity is also em- ployed by those acquiring pass- ports to lay claim to a 'bond' with the island. With physi- cal presence not a necessary requirement for applicants to obtain citizenship, charitable donations have been used as a means of establishing a "link" with Malta during the applica- tion process to satisfy the resi- dence requirement. A joint report by Transpar- ency International and Global Witness last week argued that such donations could lead to conflicts of interest or of- fer opportunities for corrup- tion and favouritism: a case in point was a report to the IIP regulator that the agency was pointing applicants to specific charity. By the end 2016, 215 dona- tions amounting to €1,703,700 had been made to philan- thropic organisations and NGOs in Malta. "Malta needs to adequately address the pro- gramme's reputational and money-laundering risks. It also needs to increase transparency and accountability in the man- agement of contributions and decision-making, particularly by limiting the discretion of public officials," TI and Global Witness said in their report. The Puttinu Cares charity for children's medical care was the largest beneficiary, receiv- ing over €1 million through 160 individual donations. The Malta Community Chest Fund also took €914,000 from 123 donations. Other top beneficiaries were government agency Heritage Malta with €300,000 from 32 donors, and Claris Foundation – a charity spin-off from citi- zenship experts ClarisGlobal – which recieved €188,000 in 26 donations. The Dar tal-Providenza re- ceived €138,000 from 28 do- nations while Inspire took €127,900 in 29 donations. The largest single donation was that of €100,000, which went to the Faculty of Math- ematics at the University of Malta. Puttinu Cares has also bene- fited from a €1 million bequest from the National Develop- ment and Social Fund, the posterity fund that curates the revenues from the Individual Investor Programme, to con- struct new London premises to house patients and fami- lies. Donations to Heritage Mal- ta were used to restore his- torical sites like the Grand Salon at the Auberge de Provence, the purchase of a set of 12 bells for the Mari- time Museum in Vittoriosa, and for works at Għar Dalam. Apart from various philan- thropic organisations, other beneficiaries included sport- ing organisations, as well as religious, cultural, and herit- age charities. "Donations are given on a voluntary basis," the par- liamentary secretariat told MaltaToday. "The choice of beneficiaries and donation amount is totally at the dis- cretion of the applicants. The IIP Agency is only informed about the donations made for information purposes only. It is testimony to the rich ben- efits the country reaps from the IIP scheme." 'Passport rich' shell out €3.9m for Maltese charity Name of organisation No. of Total Amount Donations Donated Puttinu Cares 160 €1,018,800.00 Malta Community Chest Fund 123 €914,175.00 Heritage Malta 32 €300,000.00 Claris Foundation 26 €188,000.00 Dar Tal-Providenza 28 €138,800.00 Inspire 29 €127,900.00 Rotary Club 4 €112,480.00 Mathematics Faculty – UOM 1 €100,000.00 Fondazzjoni Kenn Ghal Sahhtek 2 €50,000.00 Hospice Malta 12 €49,500.00 Top Ten Donations