Comments on: Can they possibly be more lick-spittle?

By: C.G

C.G — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 16:36:55 +0000

Who is Paul Bugeja?

By: Rosie

Rosie — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:43:44 +0000

Tony Zahra was there to make the gullible idiots think that the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is backing the government in the plan to sell passports.

Paul Bugeja, the new MHRA chairman, was quick to point out that Zahra was there in a personal capacity, but not many people will have noticed his clarification – certainly not as many as those who saw the photograph/video of Zahra sitting near the prime minister in that press conference.

It is worrying is the fact that Joe Bannister was there. How does the Malta Financial Services Authority come into it?

By: verita

verita — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 21:13:18 +0000

And where was the minister of finance ?

By: P Shaw

P Shaw — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 18:03:14 +0000

In reply to ciccio.

Rather than the Norwegian Sovereign oil fund, this scam looks more and more like the Libyan Investment Authority that ‘managed’ (or rather depleted) a similar fund.

The MLP should be very familiar with the latter and I would not be surprised if the same person/s dealing with Gheddafi came up with the same scheme to set up ‘a fund’.

By: canon

canon — Thu, 26 Dec 2013 13:05:47 +0000

A scheme within a scheme. It smells like a skunk.

By: krakatoa

krakatoa — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 20:27:31 +0000

What, exactly, was Tony Zahra doing there?

By: Giraffa

Giraffa — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 02:11:31 +0000

Tony Zahra does not represent anybody except his own egoistical self – the others were coerced to attend, looking like they are at a funeral. Lackeys all of them.

By: P Shaw

P Shaw — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:15:03 +0000

The whole thing is a scam. The price for a cheap Maltese/EU passport changed from EUR650,000 to EUR730,000 with no strings attached – a pittance for the shady people that Joseph Muscat is trying to attract in China, Russia, and similar countries.

I did not reach that conclusion instantly, but thanks to Tony Zahra, or the unrelated presence of Tony Zahra, it was easy to join all the dots.

The presence of Tony Zahra at the press conference was a significant red flag. If he approves, then it must be questionable.

The shady people that Joseph Muscat is targeting have no intention of living in Malta and consequently have no interest in acquiring a property, no matter how cheap it is (even at EUR 350,000). It is an unnecessary hassle.

Joseph Muscat, through a possible collusion with Tony Zahra, has offered them a golden alternative. They can rent a ‘property’ or rather an ‘address’ for EUR80,000 over a period of five years. This rent can be seen as a pitiful increase in the price of Maltese citizenship which is already at the lower end.

Who is best suited to offer these ‘fake addresses’ for rent, given that these customers have no intention of ever living in Malta? People like Tony Zahra. He can rent suites, or rooms (to be rebranded as apartments) for five years using the existing infrastructure, while at the same time keep going with the hotel business.

The same hotel room can be rented out to numerous family members given that nobody will ever live there.

The presence at the press conference of Finance Malta and MFSA is pretty obvious given that they are government appointees and they feel they must follow orders. What puzzles me is how the Chamber of Commerce fell for this scam.

By: Phili B

Phili B — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 22:08:47 +0000

I still cannot understand why not much is being said about the huge amounts of money this horrid scheme will be raking in. JM is still insisting that they’re going into a FUND. Who will be scrutinizing the accounts?
Secondly, is the clause rendering the passing on of information about applicants a criminal offence, still on?
These are two major points the PN should be hammering the government on. So far, the arguments against are too feeble.

By: ciccio

ciccio — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 20:02:19 +0000

Possibly the biggest mistake being done by the Labour government of prime minister Joseph Muscat is to involve the Malta Financial Services Authority and Finance Malta in the Citizenship for Sale “Individual Investor Programme” issue.

This is linking the Citizenship for Sale Scheme with Malta’s financial centre services, and this is a gross mistake.

The two things must be kept separate.

The Citizenship for Sale Scheme is not acceptable to the EU and to the Maltese. I am sure that we will be hearing more from the EU and locally about this issue. Therefore, officially putting it under the same spotlight with Malta’s financial services is going to do more harm than good to our economy.

The Citizenship for Sale has no direct connection with financial services. It is a government financing issue and it must in no way be put in the same basket with financial institutions and investment services.