The government granted citizenships to individuals who declared empty plots, underground parking lots, abandoned unfinished houses, and offices as their investments, the House watchdog committee heard on Thursday, as the auditor-general detailed the findings of a probe into two cases concerning large foreign companies.
Odysseas Michaelides also suggested that former interior minister Socratis Hasikos was personally involved, as a company he controlled participated in a construction project undertaken by a company whose executives were granted passports.
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris defended the administration’s actions, arguing that the two investments – one concerning the casino resort – were considerable and the benefits for the state significant, and that granting the citizenships was far from a scandalous act.
Nouris accused Michaelides of engaging in political activism, and he cautioned that accusing Hasikos of corruption without proof could leave him exposed.
Michaelides reiterated that the decision to grant nine citizenships to executives linked with the company that won the casino concession was not lawful.
The auditor told MPs 18 citizenships had been granted to senior executives, seven of whom did not meet the criteria. Six were executives of a company registered in Cyprus, which is the parent company of the casino operator. One was the director of a subsidiary of the parent company.
No links were found between the remaining 11 individuals with the parent company or the casino operator.
Of the seven, six did not appear to be registered with the tax department while the remaining one was but has not prepaid the €100,000 in income tax specified by the criteria, Michaelides said.
MPs were also informed about the 64 citizenships granted to a large foreign company, which was not named in the report. All were granted between 2014 and May 2017 when Hasikos was minister.
Of the 64 cases, 27 were employed by the company, including three spouses, possibly naturalised as dependents.
The remaining 37 did not seem to be employed by the company but were also naturalised, Michaelides said.
Of the criterion of acquiring a permanent residence, the auditor said his department’s investigation determined that one address that was declared, was a field in Nicosia. An underground parking lot, empty plots, unfinished buildings abandoned for years at Pervolia, Larnaca, and offices, were also given as the addresses for the permanent residences supposedly acquired, Michaelides said.
Later in the day Hasikos hit back at the Michaelides, suggesting the auditor-general is scraping the bottom of the barrel seeking signs of corruption where none exist.
The ex-interior minister named Wargaming as the company in question where the 64 citizenships were granted.
“The auditor-general’s investigation is superficial and shoddy. He [Michaelides] speaks of houses that were never built, about physical addresses that turned out to be plots, and many other things about Wargaming’s executives.
“But he did not go to the trouble to investigate whether the sales contracts submitted to the land registry complied with the law and the [investment] criteria.”
Nouris declined to provide information and details, arguing there was an ongoing probe into the programme and the personal data of people involved must be protected.
He said the EU was also investigating Cyprus and the government could not publish any information, stressing that public debates should be avoided lest they affect the probe.
Citing the personal data commissioner, the interior minister said he could not submit the details of the citizenship cases law and accounting firms involved in the programme had handled.
Nouris said the loss in revenues in the form of taxes or houses that were not bought should be set against what the country gained from the investments.
The minister said granting the citizenships to the casino executives aimed to facilitate a €600m investment with many other side benefits. The same went for the other company probed by the auditor.
Since 2011, when the company [Wargaming] set up its business in Cyprus, it has put €800m in the economy and participated in the recapitalisation of the banking system, Nouris said.
