Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1365202
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 APRIL 2021 THE PASSPORT PAPERS while two more applicants in- cluded a traffic fine as evidence of their ties to the island as well (one fine was for parking on a single yellow line and the other was for parking too close to a corner). Cinema tickets were also in- cluded by some applicants as ev- idence of their links to the island. One particular folder contained a receipt for a massage (with ex- tra oil) as well. Another applicant included two receipts for pastries and drinks from Rabat's Crystal Palace Bar (better known as is-Serkin) while another including a receipt for a €3.90 can of Red Bull from the Havana nightclub in Paceville. A grocery receipt – for a loaf of bread, a one-litre carton of milk, and two cans of baked beans – was also included in one of the folders, as was a slip of pa- per showing a failed withdrawal from a Bank of Valletta ATM in another client folder. In all of the above cases, the links presented were felt to be genuine enough for Identity Malta to accept. There were several more well-intentioned examples pre- sented as links. A number of applicants presented certificates of them and their children hav- ing completed English languag- es courses on the island, while one applicant even presented an Agenda bookshop receipt for the purchase of some Maltese gram- mar books. One applicant – Vadim Vasi- lyev, who was CEO of French football giants AS Monaco at the time – personally visited the Dar Sagra Familja in Zabbar and donated €15,000 to the home for the repair of the roof of its play- room besides also presenting some AS Monaco football kits – much to the delight of the nun who runs the house, who then wrote to Vasilyev to express her thanks. Likewise, Vasilyev met with an amateur football team and their squad, also presenting them with some AS Monaco memorabilia. Another applicant sponsored the Russian translation of Tre- vor Zahra's 'The Secret Life of Grandmother Genoveffa', which actually became the first Maltese novel translated into Russian. Such exceptional examples however were few and far be- tween. With the first round of the IIP concluded, the government is now planning a second round with slightly altered require- ments, including what they de- scribed as an added emphasis on building links between appli- cants and the community. On his part, former Identity Malta CEO and current Komu- nità Malta CEO Jonathan Car- dona – who was Henley's main contact at the regulator for IIP-related matters – said that "physical presence, in contrast with legal residence, is not a pre- condition to acquire nationali- ty in Malta nor in any other EU member state." Komunità Malta – which has replaced Identity Malta as the agency for the IIP, now simply dubbed citizenship by invest- ment – on their part said that the genuine links scoring system was a management tool created by them and Henley "to ensure common standard practices in a fair and consistent way." In a reply sent to a raft of ques- tions from the collaboration, Henley said they are "fully aware of the potential inherent risks in handling client applications for residence and citizenship and have invested significant time and capital in recent years to create a governance structure that is committed to the highest of standards, with due diligence at its heart." "However, ultimately it is the responsibility of the countries involved to investigate and vet applicants", they said. This is a joint investigation by The Malta Independent, Malt- aToday, and other partners, co- ordinated by the Daphne Caru- ana Galizia Foundation. The production of this investigation was supported by a grant from the Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) fund. for the IIP's rich to buy passport Top: The private jet receipt presented by Saudi princes Khaled Bin Fahad and his son Bandar (pictured). According to internal correspondence and documents from concessionaires Henley & Partners, Prince Bander Al Saud applied for a Maltese passport in 2015 and officially became a Maltese and EU citizen two years later. as allowed to bypass one of the few public transparency safeguards in the cash-for-passports scheme following a meeting with former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and then Identity Malta CEO Jonathan Cardona