Updated | Golden passport concessionaire Henley has conflict, says Mario De Marco

The Nationalist Party has intensified its opposition to Labour's plans to sell citizenship at €650,000 a passport, with deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Mario de Marco saying the programme will put Malta's reputation as a financial services centre at stake.

De Marco was speaking at a press conference this morning, which was held at the party's headquarters.

He said that no serious country simply sells its citizenship but rather find means to do so by promoting investment and creating jobs. He said that this was especially the case in light of a report issued yesterday by the National Statistics Office which showed that there was an increase of 750 persons who registered as unemployed, when compared to the same month in 2012.

"The sale of citizenship is not true economic growth. Such a scheme should promote foreign investment and the creation of jobs, not simply on making a quick buck," de Marco said of the scheme that allows a fast-track naturalisation for applicants who can afford to buy the 'golden passport'.

De Marco said that if the government really wanted to go through which such a scheme, it should 'radically change' the way it was going about it.

"We, as the Opposition, are very concerned because Muscat, by simply selling Maltese citizenship, is putting Malta's credibility and reputation - a reputation which we worked so tirelessly at building - at serious risk," he said.

De Marco also said that concessionaire Henley, chosen by the government as the Individual Investor Programme's sole promoter, had a conflict as the company that also provides due diligence of the applicants it recommends to the home affairs ministry.

De Marco said Henley would be working on a commission basis. "Yesterday, I asked Parliamentary Secretary Edward Zammit Lewis to deny that Henley & Partners will be working on a commission basis, and instead of denying it he asked what is wrong with them receiving a commission," he said.

"The conflict of interest is there for all to see. How can the same body be in charge of carrying out due diligence on applicants, whilst receiving a commission on the successful ones? The fact is that Henley can be the best in the business but it still does not give it the right to be in possession of such power. All this country needs is for one application to go wrong and it will seriously harm Malta's reputation," he said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscsat will travel to Miami where he will promote the IIP together with representatives from St Kitts & Nevis, Antigua, and the Dominican Republic, all countries that also have their own naturalisation schemes.

De Marco said that the Maltese standards, under the current administration, seemed to be shifting from a league of European countries to a league of Caribbean ones. "If these tax havens are the same ones Muscat is looking to put Malta at par with, then this is very worrying," he said.

He said that even Granada had a citizenship naturalization programme in place but in their case, issues such as residency economic input were requirements.

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, who was also present for the press conference, said that the government seemed intent on 'devaluing the country's identity', whilst stressing that Malta was not in desperate need of generating money.

Azzopardi said that government were intent on having the scheme approved by Wednesday of next week, only two days after a proper discussion is meant to take place in parliament. He said that this meant that there could be no "meaningful and through" discussion after all.

He said that the 'humility' which Muscat promised at the time of winning the general election in March, was only masking the fact that government, with its significant majority in parliament, could ultimately do what it liked on such matters.

Government reaction

In a reaction, the home affairs ministry accused the Opposition of trying to hinder the IIP, which it said would benefit the Maltese people. According to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, over €30 million in revenues will be targeted for 2014.

"The Opposition wants to raise money from higher bills and taxes. Its track record in government was to dismantle the permanent residence scheme and burden it more bureaucracy," home affairs minister Manuel Mallia said.

Mallia said Henley had already worked under the Nationalist administration with finance minister Tonio Fenech.

"Applicants investing in Maltese citizenship will be effectively scrutinised in the most serious of manners. It will be Identity Malta, and not Henley, to take the final decision of whether somebody qualifies for citizenship."