Sale of Maltese passports: a truly damning report on the China Commodities site
Published:
November 14, 2013 at 4:30am
Read this and cringe – our goverment is MAD.
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To consider the news dispassionately, as the people at Identity Malta and the government want us to, selling an EU passport to multimillionaires is a great way of reaping what they believe is a possible annual €30 million, which will be deposited in a posterity fund dubbed the ‘national development fund’.
You might think it ironic that, just over 10 years since Labour declared it did not recognise the referendum result that gave Malta EU membership, it’s this very commodity – EU citizenship – that the Labour government wants to cash in on.
But the Maltese have never been strangers to the art of profiteering as the situation arises.
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http://www.chinacommodities.com/chinacommodities/2013/10/18/the-keys-to-the-eu-for-e650000-how-maltas-golden-passport-scheme-will-work/
Issa dalwaqt musical gdid. Minflok Guzeppi mibjugh minn hutu, ser ikun jismu Guzeppi ibiegh lil hutu.
This is cheap and insulting in so many ways, it’s insulting to Maltese – our citizenship has been devalued simply by placing a price tag on it.
It’s insulting to our partners in the EU; it blatantly prostitutes them as an asset, where we are the pimps who don’t even consult with them, we simply hang out their goods and wait for the sordid buyers and brokers to have their way with them, a back alley deal where no identities are revealed. No wonder they’re pissed.
It’s insulting to all those who have spent years crafting a place for themselves through real investment, relationships, and genuine love for the country, only to be told now, in no indirect manner that they are not ‘persons of value’.
Now that the eye of Europe is fixed on us and this whole mess we’re in, the longer we take to react en masse and voice our collective opposition to this, the less credible we look, and the more we legitimise Muscat’s decision through our complacency.
What a blessing MZPN actually did protest, at least it reduces the overall image of political and social apathy.
“Applicants who provide false information, have a criminal record, are subject to a criminal investigation, are a potential national security risk, involved in an activity that could cause disrepute to Malta, or were denied a visa to a country with whom Malta has visa-free travel “shall not be approved for citizenship… unless Identity Malta is satisfied that the applicant is still worthy of being considered for approval due to special circumstances to be demonstrated by the applicant.”
…such as having made a pre-electoral donation to the Malta Labour Party.
This is all so horrible.
That last sentence especially.
Did Joseph Muscat really think that no one would see this scheme for what it really was? And the irony of it all considering Labour’s position vis-à-vis EU membership ten years ago?
Let’s wait for a couple of years, and we’ll see the repercussions of this decision. He might be raking in the money to finance the budget, but he will not be creating jobs, which is what really keeps the economy going and growing.
What an absolutely stupid move.
Why would he be interested in creating jobs? Jobs create independence and a feeling of self-worth; this way he just sells portions of our rights. I won’t say identity, although it is somewhat connected, I don’t think that’s what’s being given away here.
But he is selling our right to self-determination as a people and a nation. Through the normal process of naturalisation, the long period to gain citizenship establishes compatibility between the individual and the people and place they aspire to become a part of, both in social and economic terms.
Avoiding the creation of new employment opportunities and focusing on raking in money through this scheme, he is also centralising the money created and reducing accountability and any say we have over its use.
It will be explained as money they generated, not money we contributed, not using public funds – they’ll use it as an excuse to have a free hand in doing what they want.
Government is there to facilitate the investments of a people and a nation not to generate profit as a separate entity.
I don’t consider myself sentimental, especially when it comes to politics, because my line of work brings me into constant contact with politicians.
But all these international headlines have reduced me to tears.
Sad at seeing my country’s reputation flushed down the toilet and angry at all those selfish myopic bastards who put this inept and dangerous lot in the driving seat.
Apologies for the strong language but I haven’t been this incensed about a political issue in 10 years when the same inept and dangerous lot, with Muscat at the helm, tried to torpedo my children’s future in the EU.
That last line is particularly painful. It sums up Muscat perfectly. The trouble is, it tars all of us with the same toilet brush.
From heroes after the Libya crises to pirates and pariahs in just a few months.
So this is Muscat’s Second Republic.
Yepp. Muscat’s Second (Banana) Republic is built on the doctrine that the Maltese citizenship has a value of euro 650,000. The rest is worthless.
At a stroke, Joseph Muscat and his cronies have destroyed all the work done by the Malta Tourism Authority. Millions down the drain.
Infaqghetlek il-buzzieqa, Sur Zahra:
Tourism’s ‘best year ever’ – timesofmalta.com
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/…/Tourism-s-best-year-ever-.45155...
Everybody should read this article. Unfortunately, a large portion of Joseph Muscat’s followers are illiterate and those who can read will probably not do so because like Marlene Farrugia, they have ‘complete trust’ in their leader. Sickening.
Jesus.
Malta had slowly clawed its way out of the jungle of tax havens, establishing itself as a respectable financial hub.
The result was a sector employing more than 10,000 and growing, creating the real high net worth individuals, people with skills, know-how, discipline and expertise.
The Maltese, attending any conference, were treated with respect and looked upon as a model to follow, pestered with questions how they managed, the finer aspects of legislation and so on.
The Maltese were the real deal. Trust me, my wife’s one of them; having her sit across a table gave a business meeting meaning.
In the space of a few months we’re back to being buccaneers in it for a quick buck. In a world where financial services are being regulated ever more tightly, monitored more closely and legislation ever more stringent.
And for what, 30 million euros? She manages that amount of transactions on average in a couple of days.
Idiots, amateurs, plonkers.
Even people living in a fierce dictatorship seem to be more lucid than the Maltese.
I don’t think the author is Chinese. I’d guess British.
Basically, if you are a non-Maltese citizen, fall in love with a Maltese girl, work here and pay taxes it might take you years to get Maltese citizenship.
On the other hand if you are a millionaire and want to have a Maltese passport for whatever reason you deem fit for your purpose you get in within days.
Gives a new meaning to “money is the root of all evil”.
Buying a Maltese passport means buying an EU passport. So why is the EU so quiet about this? What is it waiting for to put the brakes on Muscat?
Wait for it. Cyprus was forced into a quasi-bailout exactly because of a similar scheme.
It wasn’t clear where all the money from Russia was pouring into its banks had come from, and tougher EU legislation caused a run on these, (little things with a director or two).
Cyprus was actually trying to top Malta – problem is, the financial model we built was the benchmark. Cyprus lost.
Now this, it’s cannibalistic.
This has been discussed here:
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2013/11/some-of-the-days-european-headlines-so-far/
The Maltese passport is being sold as a commodity to keep in the drawer just in case the worst happens. It’s like a salesman proposing you the purchase of a gun just in case somebody intrudes your house – cause a Maltese passport will ease one’s travels and business deals: that’s how they’re selling it.
It might be simply sales talk but that is how it is being sold.
But if somebody respectable owns and can spend €650k, then it stands to reason that one can travel VIP wherever he/she wants and he can do any business deals with no problems. Most probably, such a person, no matter what nationality is already a resident outside his/her country which might be “unsafe”. VISA’s and such are bureaucratic nuisances are dealt with by secretaries and PAs. Nobody will stop such a person at the airport.
So it’s stands to reason, that if the passport will not be purchased to ease one’s travels or living then the purchase of a new passport will enable the holder to hide one’s past, to hide one’s origin. The passport is bought by somebody who has trouble traveling or doing business.
It’s simple logic built on the same sales’ talk used by the proposers of the scheme.
The previous administration had to work its socks off to shed Malta’s ship registration’s reputation as a flag of convenience.
And lo and behold, that set of wankers has just relegated Malta’s to a passport of convenience.