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Passport sale leads Albanian government to clash with EU

2022-08-16 15:50:00Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Passport sale leads Albanian government to clash with EU
Illustrative photo

The Albanian government risks clashing with the European Union in the event of pushing forward the idea of selling citizenship. The possibility has been left open after a July 27 government decision, where with the proposal of Interior Minister Bledi Chuci, citizenship programmes are included in the field of concessions, or public-private partnerships.

Under the voice, the government says this relates to the completion next year of the current concession of passport and IDENTITY card production, but there are doubts that the goal is another, that of selling the passport, a business that generates over $25 mld a year.

The project dates back at least to the autumn of 2019, when Edi Rama conducted an unofficial visit to London on 11-13 November, at the same time as the company's annual conference "Henley & Partners" was held, a company that on its official website describes itself as the leading company in the field of mediation in the sale of passports.

Montenegro was also represented at the conference, with then Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and Malta with Prime Minister Josef Muskat. During the meeting, Prime Minister Edi Rama was on the list of speakers addressed to guests.

Neither the company nor the Albanian Government had an announcement about the content of Prime Minister Edi Rama's speech at the conference, but in the media circulated several articles, according to which the head of the Albanian Government has expressed to participating billionaires that he is considering the co-operation of the Albanian Government with "Henley & Partners". despite this being possible to translate into clashes with the EU.

In fact, the European Union generally rebukes the practice of selling passports, while in particular, through a resolution adopted on 28 March 2019 in the European Parliament, Malta is required to cease co-operation with henley & partners.

The resolution raises concerns about persons who have benefited from an EU member state's passport, following the registration of at least five cases, where beneficiaries were wanted people, or convicted of fraud, tax evasion, to violations of sanctions imposed on Russia.

Companies operating in this market keep their data secret, but in a 2018 MoneyVal report, which is the European anti-money laundering body, it is pointed out that the most applications for citizenship in this form arrive from Russia, Iran and the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, or Iraq.

Citizenship sellers

In itself the business of selling passports, despite criticism from most European Union countries is increasingly being considered an opportunity to attract foreign capital to the country. Currently only three EU member states co-operate with Henley & Partners for the sale of passports, Austria, Cyprus and Malta.

Austria has a filtering mechanism for names applying that works and so far none of the beneficiaries have resulted in a person being searched, or charged in suspicious criminal activity. But the same cannot be said in Cyprus and Malta. For both of these countries, the European Parliament seeks in the resolution adopted on 28 March to either strengthen the rules, fight corruption in this sector, or renounce this scheme.

The resolution stresses that in Cyprus alone this business has circulated about 6 billion euros since 2013 when it introduced this scheme. The source of at least 4 milliades of euros, according to a MoneyVal report, is suspicious. The same is true of Malta, where there have been no shortage of accusations that in corrupt schemes that have granted citizenship to suspected persons, or sought for various crimes in the financial field, the Minister of Justice has been included.

Started by these European Union concerns, the path Albania must follow, as a country enjoying the right to free movement in the Schengen area should be Austria's. But are Albanian state structures able to "challenge" corruption levels and guarantee that no suspicious person will benefit from an Albanian passport?

This question can hardly take a "Yes", while with "No" it is at stake not only the country's integration into the European Union, but also the free movement of Albanian citizens to the countries of the European Union.

The way citizenship benefits and the billions that are circulated

Henley & Partners offers two offers to its customers. The first offer is that of the resident person. For this program payments are lower and along with them the benefits for customers. Resident cards enable buyers to stay in the place where they buy this card, but limited physical and capital mobility in other countries.

In this program, Henley & Partners itself acknowledges that there are more states that co-operate with it, including Greece and the United States of America.

The second program is the purchase of the passport. Here the number of countries that cooperate with this company is more limited. Greece and the US are not. This program enables company customers to access the device with the country passport they want. The payments are depending on the individual agreements that "Henley & Partners" has signed with the relevant states. As an example, 1.2ml euros should be paid in Malta and have an investment plan of another 2ml euros in exchange for obtaining a passport, while in Cyprus the figure is lower, and so is the obligation to invest.

Nuk dihet se në cilin program do të përfshihet Shqipëria, gjithnjë nëse kjo do të ndodhë. Nuk dihet gjithashtu as shuma se sa do të shitet pasaporta shqiptare dhe as mënyra, apo kontrata që po mendon qeveria shqiptare. Por, sërish në media qarkullon një variant sipas të cilit shteti shqiptar do t’i ofrojë një formë PPP-je 50 me 50 “Henley & Partners”. Pra, për të shpjeguar më thjeshtë, nëse shteti shqiptar vendos që nesër të shesë një pasaportë për 1 mln euro, atëherë 500 mijë euro do të shkojnë në arkën e shtetit dhe 500 mijë euro të tjera në xhepat e kompanisë në fjalë.

Në pamje të parë duket joshëse, por rastet kur skema të tilla janë miratuar dhe më pas anuluar për shkak të abuzimeve dhe korrupsionit nuk mungojnë. Rasti më i freskët është Moldavia, që u detyrua të heqë dorë për shkak të veprimtarisë së dyshimtë të personave që përfituan shtetësinë moldave dhe dyshimeve se pas kompanive që vepronin si seksere në ofrimin e këtij shërbimi për klientë të majmë qëndronte Rusia.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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