Citizenship for sale: fugitives, politicians and disgraced businesspeople buying Vanuatu passports

Revealed: more than 2,000 people, including individuals sought by police, have purchased passports, and with them visa-free access to the EU and UK

A controversial “golden passports” scheme run by the Pacific nation of Vanuatu saw more than 2,000 people, including a slew of disgraced businesspeople and individuals sought by police in countries all over the world, purchase citizenship in 2020 – and with it visa-free access to the EU and UK, the Guardian can reveal.

Among those granted citizenship were a Syrian businessman with US sanctions against his businesses, a suspected North Korean politician, an Italian businessman accused of extorting the Vatican, a former member of a notorious Australian motorcycle gang, and South African brothers accused of a $3.6bn cryptocurrency heist.

Continue reading...

source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/15/citizenship-for-sale-fugitives-politicians-and-disgraced-businesspeople-buying-vanuatu-passports

No comments:

Post a Comment

Featured post

Ethiopia’s controversial quest for the sea

https://ift.tt/4t29xJd Ethiopia is famously landlocked. That’s why the ambitious Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed has long harbored visi...