Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/972198
maltatoday SUNDAY 22 APRIL 2018 News 5 FOR ONDEMAND PRESS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Following a complaint to the IDPC, Identity Malta insisted that the "volume of business of accredited agents is not at all the concern of Identity Malta. Accredited agents do not deal with Identity Malta in the knowledge that Identity Malta will be reveal- ing the volume of their business." It also said it had no legal obligation to make the information public. In its decision, the IDPC said that revealing the number of successful applications by IIP agents reflected "a level of commercial activity… which if disclosed may encroach on the rights and under- standing of the agent or concessionaire to maintain commercial confidentiality." The IDPC said Identity Malta had a public inter- est in ensuring that no accredited agent is "in any way hindered in his service with any potential in- vestors." The IDPC also said that publishing the informa- tion requested would "cause disruption ultimately to the working of the IIP scheme. Indeed, such in- formation may direct clients away from agents who in terms of the information revealed would not have a considerable volume of IIP-related work." Other refusals Identity Malta has already turned down a Free- dom of Information request to give MaltaToday the list of citizens who acquired a passport through the IIP. Identity Malta turned down MaltaToday's free- dom of information request, saying that the infor- mation requested was already publicly available. "Identity Malta Agency cannot discriminate be- tween citizens of Malta as requested by the appli- cant." MaltaToday filed a complaint, arguing that citi- zenship laws do not directly prohibit the separate publication of a list of 'IIP citizens' and that this was only a matter of policy. "The IIP itself is a scheme built on discrimina- tion… it discriminates between future citizens who can acquire citizenship through naturalisation or by acquiring registration through the IIP. Identity Mal- ta is itself promoting a discriminatory route to Mal- tese citizenship; arguing that a separate list would discriminate between IIP and non-IIP citizens, is a smokescreen," MaltaToday said in its complaint to the agency. "The 'discrimination' is essential and has a public interest because the investment of so called 'IIP citizens' is directly linked to the reputa- tion of the country and its economic growth." But Identity Malta also refused this complaint, saying that citizenship rules mandated the sole publication of a single list of all persons. "Publishing lists of sub-categories of new citizens by reference to the method of acquisition of citizenship would violate the principle that all citizens are equal and have a right to be treated equally by the State," Iden- tity Malta said. IDM also insisted that all citizens were equal after having acquired citizenship, and that the discrimi- nation in the acquisition of citizenship was no long- er relevant at that point. "The request refers to the post-acquisition stage and the method of acquisition (except for the fact of falling into the categories of citizenship by reg- istration on naturalisation) is therefore no longer relevant at that stage." MaltaToday will be appealing the refusal with the Information and Data Protection Commissioner. Malta's IIP sells citizenship to the global elite for €650,000 a passport. Applicants must also com- mit to acquire a property worth €350,000 or rent an apartment for five years for at least €16,000 per annum, and invest €150,000 in government stocks. In 2016, a MaltaToday story on the residential properties of successful IIP citizens not being worth €350,000, led to the creation of a compliance unit at Identity Malta to investigate potential abuses. In an investigation carried out by the regulator of the IIP, it turned out that in the 13 cases selected by MaltaToday, 11 had leased their premises and in six of these cases the lease value was "nearly equal to the threshold" save for a €200 difference. The regulator said this statistic implied the figure had been rounded upwards so that the rental would be in line with the IIP rules, or that the applicants had specifically selected a property that did not sig- nificantly exceed the minimum €16,000 threshold. Identity Malta started to request accredited agents to provide a qualified architect's declaration to con- firm the values of the properties being leased and purchased; and has set up a Compliance Unit tasked with monitoring and investigating potential abuses. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Transparency request on IIP turned down Art Deco Sliema house proposed for demolition JAMES DEBONO ONE of the last few Art Deco buildings left standing in Sliema's Qui-Si-Sana is being proposed for demolition. The application to drop down the house 'Maronna' presented by Keith Attard Portughes proposes the demolition of the building, the construction of 50 underground parking spaces, an overlying 998 sq.m of commercial space and 27 apartments and one penthouse, all built over seven floors. The latest plans presented on 26 March foresee the retention of some of the architectural features in the existing façade. The building together with neighbouring 'Lavinia' and 'Licin- ia' is of a unique type of Art Deco architecture designed by Filippo Tortell in the early 1930s. The Italian names 'Maronna', 'Licinia' and 'Lavinia', are con- sidered to reflect historical defi- ance to the strong British military presence in the area. Tortell also designed Villa Madama in Balzan, which shares similar architectural elements. According to architect Edward Said, Tortell drew inspiration from American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, emulating some of the latter's earlier motifs in his Tigné Street buildings, making them all the more significant and precious. Din l-Art Helwa described the demolition as a shameful loss of precious cultural heritage, which should be protected and con- served for future generations. DLH is insisting that the fa- cades are retained and the ad- ditional floors built to emulate the existing architecture, as was successfully carried out with the Lombard Bank in Sliema. Since Qui-Si-Sana does not form part of Sliema's Urban Conservation Area, this building lacks any pro- tection whatsoever. A heritage report included in the Environment Impact Assess- ment for a 40-storey hotel on the neighbouring Fort Cambridge barracks states that this building merits Grade 2 scheduling which would only allow internal resto- ration and alterations but would save these buildings from both internal and external demolition.