The businessman received the “golden passport” of Cyprus in exchange for investing in the country. However, it turned out that it was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation and concealment of important facts.
Cyprus authorities have revoked the citizenship of eight people, including Ukrainian businessman Igor Kolomoisky, who was granted naturalization for significant investments in the island nation. The government’s decision was reported on Saturday, September 14, by the Cypriot newspaper Philenews.
It is noted that Kolomoisky has had Cypriot citizenship since 2010. He also has Israeli citizenship since 1995.
Kolomoisky was given the so-called “golden passport” of Cyprus under the “citizenship in exchange for investment in the country’s economy” program. However, as Philenews notes, he did not mention in his application for naturalization the Russian tax evasion case, which was opened against him in 2008.
The decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Cyprus states that before and after naturalization, Kolomoisky “was a person of dubious reputation, and his naturalization created and continues to create a great risk of bad reputation for the Republic of Cyprus.”
Cyprus recalled that in 2021, the US State Department banned Kolomoisky from entering the States due to corruption allegations.
In addition to Kolomoisky, the Council of Ministers on September 4 decided to remove seven more people of Cypriot citizenship: Egyptian investor Mohamed Abdelrahman Mohamed Salem and his wife and son, as well as Russian investor Maxim Zakharchenko, his wife and two children.
Let’s remember that in 2014, Kolomoisky admitted triple citizenship – then he had three passports.
And in October 2023, the court recognized Kolomoisky as a citizen of Ukraine. He has been in custody since last year due to several cases filed against him.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.