The European Court has found Malta's "golden passport" program illegal

The European Union's top court has declared Malta's "golden passport" program, which grants citizenship in exchange for money or investment, illegal. The court said the scheme was contrary to EU law, the Financial Times reported.

The EU court explained its decision as follows: "No EU member state has the right to sell its citizenship, that is, EU citizenship, in exchange for money or a specific investment. This practice would turn the granting of citizenship into a simple commercial transaction."

The document states that through this program, Malta is grossly violating its obligations under the EU Treaty.

According to the Financial Times, the Maltese government will now be forced to cancel the program, otherwise the country may face serious fines. The Maltese government is currently studying the legal aspects of this decision and plans to change its citizenship system in accordance with the court's rulings.

Earlier, in early 2023, the European Commission appealed to the European Union's highest court due to Malta's "golden passport" program. According to the European Commission, the citizenship granted by Malta could pose a common threat and negative consequences for the European Union. Because persons who receive this citizenship will have the right to live freely in any country of the European Union, work and even vote in European elections.

Concerns about this program have been growing recently. In particular, there were reports that some wealthy Russian businessmen, who were subject to sanctions by Western countries due to the war in Ukraine, were granted the right to enter the territory of the European Union through these very "golden passports". Among them are prominent Russian businessmen Albert Avdolyan, Evgenia Bernova, who was accused by the US of "assisting in the export of equipment to persons associated with Russian state bodies," as well as millionaire Pavel Melnikov.

Now this decision of the European Court may have a serious impact on other countries with "golden passport" programs. Because this program is one of the most controversial topics that has given rise to various political and economic disputes. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!