A pertinent observation – who’s going to control them?
Published:
November 6, 2013 at 8:20pm
Posted by Tom Double Thumb:
If the names of applicants are to remain secret, what is there to stop the NUMBER of applicants remaining secret as well?
The budget mentions an income of EUR15 million/EUR30 million. Anything generated above that figure will disappear…… where?
Maybe our expert salesman intends to keep a double-entry accounting ledger: one for public and tax purposes, the other for personal, party or private consumption.
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Let us say the Minister declares, say, receipts of euro 1.3 million from the Maltese Citizenship Prostitution Scheme.
How can we verify if that relates to 2 passports of euro 650,000 each or if that was 1 passport of euro 650,000 and 26 passports of euro 25,000 each?
Or if it was income from an altogether different unrelated source but deceitfully classified as sales of passports?
The budget mentions an income of EUR15 million/EUR30 million. Anything generated above that figure will disappear…… where?
To fund Labour’s campaigns?
Dear Daphne,
My opinion is that the PL are using the sale of citizenship scheme to put pressure on the EU to start off the burden-sharing scheme regarding illegal immigration.
I don’t believe that the actual sale of Maltese passports will be initiated. We have to remember that JM will stop at nothing to put into effect the promise that the illegal immigration will be addressed. The threat of selling Maltese (EU) passports may seem like a good weapon to the PL to push the EU into action.
[Daphne – Definitely not. The income from selling passports is already projected in the budget estimates and no, they are determined to do it and are quite desperate to do so. You don’t make firm plans and enter into contracts with third parties just to put pressure on somebody or make a show of empty threats.]
Pluribus, I respect your opinion.
I think it holds as much water as an old rusty sieve.
As I have said before. As long as the entire operation is not above board, transparent and open to scrutiny by Parliament and the Maltese public, it will stink of corruption.
It already does and is destined to sink for evermore into an abyss of filth.
Tonio Fenech’s clock will be the laugh of the twentyfirst century when compared to the millions of euros that will potentially disappear into thin air as a result of this obnoxious and obscene project.
We will never know will we?
Of course they are going to sell Maltese passports! They are putting pressure on the EU, I agree with you, but not to burden share the illegal immigration problem.
They are putting pressure on the EU to throw us out of the union, then the labour party will not be blamed for taking us out of the European Union but the EU itself will do it for them.
What will happen to the scheme then? Who will want to buy a Maltese passport without the EU membership and without the freedom to enter the USA without a visa once they remove that agreement as well.
That is the reason why they are so cheap. It’s a quick bargain while stocks last scheme.
[Daphne – Stocks can never run out. All you do is print more.]
My fear is that the EU will find a way to penalise us for this. Third states certainly will: there’s nothing to stop the US and others from introducing restrictions on Maltese passport holders.
Acquiring Maltese citizenship will give the buyer the right to vote. That means that means that their names will have to be published on the electoral register, or not?
[Daphne – Citizenship does not give you the right to vote. It is the basis, the starting-point of the right to vote. You must have a registered address here and also live in Malta or at least spend some of the time here/have a vested interest in the country. If a Maltese passport were the only thing required for the right to vote, then there would be tens of thousands of people in Canada and Australia and the United States, with dual citizenship and the right to vote in Malta.
Also, even if their names were to be included in the electoral roll, they would hardly be marked out as ‘bought passport’, would they. So how could you tell them apart from the rest? You couldn’t.]
Vote for what?
These people will have no interest to vote.
They will just use their ill-gotten billions to keep the PL in power to maintain the status quo.
This is a small country with a pathetic, semi literate electorate, only interested in what they can pilfer from politics and politicians.
It only takes a few million euros to swing the vote.
The implications from unknown recipients of a Maltese passport to the security of the EU, particularly when this is being advertised in countries like Pakistan (heartland of Islamic fundamentalists), is to say the least worrying.
Ha ndardruha ftit iktar, u l-Eu ha titfana l-barra mill-Klubb.
Just a humble prediction. Not a remote possibility.
Dear Ms.DCG,
I’m not at all eloquent but this should give some more food for thought:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_custodiet_ipsos_custodes%3F
Is there no real democratic solution to stop this citizenship sale madness? No legal means of slowing down the process so as to make it eventually worthless to any Individual Investing in himself (and extended family)?
I would have hoped that being part of the EU would allow ANY substantial minority of a member country some way to apply the brakes, or even hopefully stop such a mess from becoming a reality.
I really hope that some enlightened legal brain(s) can come up with a realistic solution that us mere mortals have not the IQ to figure out.
The removal of checks and balances is a sign that the government is trying to erode the strength of the rule of law – and once that goes, everything will be permissable.
Sure, there will be elections every five years; but what and who will keep the government in check? The media won’t be enough since freedom of speech ultimately depends on the strength of the rule of law.
The rule of law in Malta is already weak as it is – we’re in for a bumpy ride.
Without institutional safeguards things can only get worse.
“Let us say the Minister declares, say, an income of 1.3 million Euro….”. Will that declaration be as real, true, believable and trustworthy as his declaration of assets when he became Minister?
I would have thought that the EU would have a right to know who the new Maltese/European citizens are. They have free movement and rights to operate in any EU country so I should expect Europe to ask for the identity oof these new Maltese citizens
I doubt that a future Mr. Sum Ting Wong with Maltese passport number 123456 would want to include his particulars in the electoral register just to be able to vote for PL.
It will not be worth the risk for such people to expose themselves. Rest assured that their gratitude will not be reciprocated with a simple first preference.