Cyprus moves to strip 26 foreign investors of citizenship

Cyprus’ interior minister says authorities are setting in motion procedures to strip 26 foreign investors of citizenship that was granted to them under a lucrative investment program.

Costantinos Petrides told reporters Wednesday that authorities also will investigate all investors who were issued a Cyprus passport before 2018, when tougher eligibility criteria were put in place.

The probe comes after media reports suggesting that some investors may have been implicated in money-laundering or linked to authoritarian governments. Cyprus’ president has acknowledged “errors” may have been made in granting such “golden passports.”

Petrides said a three-member committee headed by the country’s auditor-general would pour over the results of the probe to determine whether the 26 targeted passport-holders or any others had in fact met the less-strict criteria.