Since 2012, more EU countries – like Malta, Cyprus and Portugal - have begun to generate millions for the public coffers by selling national passports or residence permits through popular 'citizenship-by-investment' and ‘golden visa’ schemes. The customers are almost always kept secret by these governments. So who are these new European citizens? And what are the risks of these kinds of programs?
A cross-border team of journalists obtained secret lists of applicants' names from several countries and found that some countries, like Cyprus and Portugal, sold passports or residence to a wide array of controversial figures.
