Citizenship scheme | Government says opposition is afraid of IIP’s success

In light of Simon Busuttil's threat to repeal the passports of the beneficiaries of the Individual Investor Programme (IIP), the government has hit out at the leader of the Opposition, saying he is only committed to scrap the scheme, despite "agreeing with it".

"The government has already proven that it is ready to extend its hand of cooperation, aptly proven by the amendments to the citizenship scheme. However, Sthe Nationalist Party and its leader are still persisently sticking with their negative attitude with their threat to repeal the passports of the beneficiaries," the government argued in reaction to Busuttil's comments.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Busuttil warned that a future Nationalist government would not rule out repealing the passports of the beneficiaries.

"If the Opposition exhausts all its options to scrap the citizenship scheme in vain, a future PN government would not rule out repealing the passports," Busuttil stressed while insisting that the controversial citizenship scheme is harming Malta's reputation.

Originally capped at €650,000, the sale of the Maltese passports to wealthy non-European expats has seen the government and the opposition in a tug of war with the opposition vehemently insisting that it is "against the sale of the Maltese citizenship in principle", while the government arguing that the IIP scheme would ultimately be of benefit to Malta's coffers.

Resorting to Twitter, Prime Minister said that the same people "badmouthing" the citizenship scheme are the same people who mocked Labour's electoral energy pledges.

Following weeks of negotiations between the government and the opposition, the requirements of the contentious scheme were changed but nevertheless, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said, the two sides could not reach an agreement, citing the five-residency period as the main bone of contention.

On his part, the leader of the Opposition argued that the the he and Joseph Muscat failed to see eye to eye on the IIP because the objection that the citizenship should not be sold was not addressed.

“We gave consensus and negotiations a very good run but these failed because the objections we had in principle – that citizenship should not be sold – have not been addressed,” Dr Busuttil said.

The requirements of the scheme have been changed from the previous €650,000 donation set by the government in its initial plans. It will now require wealthy foreigners to invest at least €1.15 million in order to obtain a Maltese passport, €650,000 of which will go to the National Economic and Social Development and the consolidated fund.

Applicants will also be required to purchase a property of at least €350,000 and invest at least €150,000 in government issued bonds or shares before being granted citizenship. Also, the secrecy clause has been waived while the IIP was capped to 1,800 applicants.

However, the government said that Busuttil's most recent comments prove that the PN leader accepts the citizenship scheme, but nevertheless, he "wants to scrap it".

"The Opposition is afraid of the citizenship scheme as it is expected to yield over a €1 billion in investment, money which would ultimately be invested in the Maltese economy," the government stressed while lambasting the Nationalist Party's obstinate stance and negativity.

The government also argued that the major constituted bodies, namely Finance Malta, the MFSA Chairman and the Chamber of Commerce, all agreed to the amendments.