Malta's so-called Individual Investor Program allows a non-resident foreigner to essentially buy citizenship in the European Union for a 650,000 euro ($779,000) payment to the state plus a 150,000 euro investment in government bonds. A property purchase or long-term rental contract and due diligence fees are also required. It's a family-friendly offer: Spouses and children pay no more than 50,000 euros each. This deal is not offered by any other EU state.
The European Parliament condemned it in 2014, saying EU citizenship "shouldn't be for sale at any price," and has regularly returned to the issue. The Maltese government, however, is not budging. Apart from allowing visa-free travel to more than 160 countries, its passport lets its owner live, work and do business anywhere in the European Union. So demand is high, and in 2016, it allowed Malta to go from a budget deficit to a surplus. Citizenship sales contributed 163.5 million euros to government revenue in that year....
...The 2016 list, out now, includes a Saudi sheikh arrested in the recent purge, Pakistani tycoons and an Azerbaijani banker. Also, dozens of Russians....This is the nation's [Russia's] business elite....
...The people on the Maltese government's list have few reasons to fear sanctions since they're not part of Putin's inner circle or large government contractors. But they would be imprudent not to think about fallback options in case someone from that circle or Russia's fearsome law enforcement machine moves against them.
...The Russian billions still hidden away abroad are perhaps the clearest evidence that Putin's system is inherently weak. He may be tolerated, even feared, but he's widely distrusted. If Maltese passports were cheaper, Russians might sink the island in a stampede to get them.
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