Scuzzy Maltese Libyan Visa Scam & Residency Permits

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-08-23/local-news/Joe-Sammut-former-Maltese-consul-ran-Libyan-visa-scheme-together-6736140933 Joe Sammut, former Maltese consul ran Libyan visa scheme together David Lindsay  Sunday, 23 August 2015, 11:30 Last update: about 2 months ago A former employee of the Maltese embassy’s consular section in Tripoli, speaking with this newspaper on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, has revealed that the visas for Libyans scam allegedly operated by former Maltese Consul Marisa Farrugia had been run in tandem with none other than accountant Joe Sammut. Mr Sammut was charged in court this week over a residency permits for Libyans scam he had allegedly been running. He pled not guilty to a series of charges including fraud, misappropriation of funds, money laundering and the falsification of documents. The scam saw Mr Sammut registering companies for Libyan nationals with fake stock declarations of €100,000, on the strength of which residency permits were issued. The extent of the scam was such that, this newspaper is informed, Bank of Valletta had stopped Mr Sammut from opening bank accounts for his clients back in March. Dr Marisa Farrugia, meanwhile, had been recalled from Tripoli in May 2014 over her alleged involvement in a visa scam, and was questioned by the police. The police had also seized files from the Maltese embassy in Tripoli as part of their investigations. Investigations had reportedly been initiated when Maltese companies reported that their letterheads had been falsified and used on ‘official’ invitations required for issuing business visas for Malta. The investigations had been confirmed at the time by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, but news as to how those investigations panned out has not been forthcoming. Dr Farrugia was later called back to assist in the successful release of Maltese national Martin Galea, who had been kidnapped in Libya. Tripoli Embassy staff instructed to process all Sammut visa applications Speaking with The Malta Independent on Sunday following this newspaper’s recent reportage exposing the details of Mr Sammut’s visa and residency permit scheme, the former employee of the embassy’s consular section told this newspaper that of the tens of thousands of visa applications received, “The invitations we used to receive from Joe Sammut’s office for Libyan citizens to visit Malta used to amount to two-thirds of all the applicants”. The consular section’s staff, according to the former employee, was under strict instructions from Dr Farrugia to not discuss any visa invitations arriving from the office of Joe Sammut. Not only that, they were also allegedly instructed to process all the visa applications that Mr Sammut’s office was involved in without question. Moreover, the former employee claims that, “There were several irregularities on the application forms [of Mr Sammut’s clients] which she [Dr Farrugia] asked us to turn a blind eye to, and to refer them only to her.” The interference does not stop there, with the former employee stating that: “We used to receive several calls a day from Joe Sammut’s office asking us to quickly process certain names since they were VIPs.” According to the former employee’s account, Dr Farrugia would hold private meetings with the VIPs referred by Mr Sammut in her own office, and staff members were powerless to say a single word about the suspicious goings-on “since they were all threatened that they would be fired if they did so”. The former embassy staff member told this newspaper that staff had complained several times to then Maltese Ambassador Victor Camilleri, complaints that dealt mainly with what the former employee describes as “the pressure which had been applied on the staff to process certain visas and to neglect others”. The former employee explains, “At that time we felt that Joe Sammut’s office had significant privileges and very strong connections with the immigration and other Maltese authorities.” The source estimates that during 2013, the Maltese embassy’s consular section processed some 51,000 visas applications and “we knew very well at that time that most of the applications that were approved were mostly those of Libyans who had paid a hefty amount to obtain their visas”. ‘Massive amounts of money involved’ In line with previous press reports on Dr Farrugia’s alleged visa scam, which had not featured Mr Sammut’s involvement until now, the former employee asserts that “there were massive amounts of money involved in obtaining Maltese or Schengen visas from the embassy”. The former employee says that for a Maltese visa Libyan nationals paid between 1,000 Libyan dinars (€640) and LYD1,500 (€960). Schengen visas, meanwhile, were ‘sold’ at LYD2,000 (€1,280). Other reports have said that such visas at times commanded prices of up to €3,000. The former employee also speaks of an office located opposite the consul that functioned as a travel agency, which would send people to the embassy for visas, all of which, according to our source, were approved. The travel agency office was allegedly run by a certain Mr Naser, who we are told “had a very close relationship with Marisa Farrugia, and he used to spend hours in her office”. The former employee says that when Dr Farrugia was deployed to the Tripoli embassy’s consular affairs section, “the daily number of visas issued to Libyan nationals had risen to a staggering figure of three hundred to four hundred a day”. Moreover, it is alleged that Dr Farrugia, “used to be invited to private dinners with members of the ex [Gaddafi] regime, all of whom she had provided with one year to two year visas. In fact, the Libyan authorities had on several occasions complained about the massive racket of the selling of Maltese visas.” Mr Sammut is also well-known for being close to the former Gaddafi regime, and for serving as the Gaddafi family’s man in Malta, holding millions of euros on their behalf. Internal investigations into Joe Sammut scandal have already begun – PM Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, asked yesterday whether he would be opening inquiries into all the public departments involved in the Joe Sammut residency permit scandal, explained that internal inquiries had already begun and had they not, then this case would not have been uncovered. He said, “There are other ongoing investigations, including cases that did not begin now, but under other administrations. The answer is ‘yes investigations began’.” http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-08-23/local-news/Joe-Sammut-former-Maltese-consul-ran-Libyan-visa-scheme-together-6736140933 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENTS Does it get any scuzzier than Southern Europe? ꕤ

Europe for Sale to non-EU Nationals - Guise of 'Residency Program'

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150927/business-news/Understanding-the-new-residence-schemes.585997 Sunday, September 27, 2015, 00:01 by Tanya Sciberras Camilleri Understanding the new residence schemes In the wake of the Joe Sammut scandal, the government has introduced another residency programme for non-EU nationals. This programme can be described as a lighter version of the ‘citizenship by investment programme’, with an indefinite residence permit granted to applicants who place an investment of €250,000 and who show that they own or rent property in Malta. The form of the investment has yet to be determined by Identity Malta. This programme is definitely aimed at individuals or their families who, whether for financial reasons or otherwise, are not eligible to buy Maltese citizenship or do not have the resources to do so but are able to afford the contribution necessary to qualify for an indefinite residence permit in Malta. Similarly to the citizenship programme (Individual Investor Programme), applications cannot be submitted directly by non-EU nationals but are to be submitted by accredited individuals who may be lawyers, legal procurators, notaries, accountants or members of the Institute of Taxation, the Institute of Accountants or the Institute of Management. The permit comes against a fee of €30,000, which is payable once Identity Malta accepts the application in principle. The application is to be accompanied by a non-refundable administrative payment of €5,500, which will eventually be deducted from this fee once the application is approved in principle. It is not known whether the government will be placing a cap on such permits, as happened with the citizenship by investment scheme The accredited agent is tasked with carrying out a due diligence exercise on the prospective applicant and dependants over 12 years of age, in order to ensure that there is no a priori evidence that the applicant or their dependants are not fit and proper people. Applicants or their dependants are disqualified from applying for a residence permit if they have been indicted or have faced serious criminal proceedings, such as money laundering, funding of terrorism or war crimes. Neither will they be eligible if they are considered a threat to public policy or public health or security or if they have been charged or found guilty of any crimes against the good order of families or if they have been interrogated or placed under suspicion of any criminal charges in respect of voluntary offences punishable by more than two years’ imprisonment. An applicant must be in in receipt of sufficient stable resources throughout the validity of the certificate in order to maintain the entire family and must provide an affidavit to confirm an annual income of not less than €100,000 or capital of not less than €500,000. The €250,000 minimum investment and the property owned or leased must also be retained for a minimum of five years. Throughout the period of validity of the certificate, the applicant and dependants must be in possession of a valid travel document and must be covered by health insurance. Curiously enough, an applicant who resides in Malta legally and continuously for a period of four years or more will be disqualified from continuing to hold the residence permit even though the permit entitles the applicant and his family to reside in Malta indefinitely. This is rather a contradiction in terms and one wonders how this particular clause will be enforced and whether a few days’ absence from Malta will be sufficient for a certificate holder to fall foul of the regulations. My conclusion is that this rule is intended to bar such permit-holders from ever becoming eligible to acquire the status of long-term residents in terms of the EU rules. EU legislation permits non-EU nationals who reside in an EU State for a continuous period of five years to acquire long-term resident status. However, it is debatable whether government is legally permitted to exclude permit holders from becoming eligible to acquire such a status by means of a legal notice. Similarly, no mention is made of the fiscal position of such permit holders. Non-EU nationals can also qualify to reside in Malta in terms of the Global Residence Programme, with the stark difference being that global residents are subject to a minimum annual tax payment of €15,000, whereas this recent programme requires a minimum investment of €250,000. It is, however, to be presumed that permit holders in terms of this new scheme will nonetheless be taxed in Malta on the income they bring into the country. It is not known whether the government will be placing a cap on such permits, as happened with the citizenship by investment scheme, and it still remains to be seen whether non-EU nationals, particularly Libyan nationals, are able to come up with the funds necessary in qualify as residents. www.vallettalegal.com Tanya Sciberras Camilleri is a partner at Valletta Legal. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150927/business-news/Understanding-the-new-residence-schemes.585997 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT A good example of why one must not transfer sovereignty to supranational bodies such as the EU, or buy into no borders bullsh*t. Europe is finished. It needs nuking. ꕤ

Maltese Pimp Selling EU Citizenship

ꕤ Article SOURCE as marked Henley & Partners Forges Innovative Partnership with UNHCR UNHCR / Somalia / UNHCR airlift / Internally displaced women queue with their registration cards for humanitarian supplies airlifted in by UNHCR. LONDON, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Henley & Partners announces an innovative partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and donates more than USD 1 million to help the global refugee cause. Henley & Partners, the global leaders in residence and citizenship planning for wealthy individuals and families, has announced the creation of an innovative partnership with the UN Refugee Agency to join forces in support of those at the other end of the spectrum of global mobility. Through a multi-year partnership Henley & Partners will support UNHCR's global refugee registration activities with a contribution of over USD 1 million and further advocate and assist UNHCR's resource mobilisation efforts in the interests of its people of concern.      (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150318/735598 ) The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of significant interest among the increasing number of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors. The freedom to move in between borders is today facilitated by a number of successful residence and citizenship programs offered by governments all over the world. "We work at the forefront of this sector and are in a unique position to advocate and facilitate Global Citizenship," says Christian H. Kalin, the Chairman of Henley & Partners. "It is only natural for us to acknowledge the plight of millions of uprooted families who flee each day the horror of war and conflict to look for international protection in other countries, and to join our forces with UNHCR". UNHCR was set up in 1951 to help the estimated 1 million people still uprooted after World War II to return home. Since then, they have helped find durable solutions for tens of millions of refugees through repatriation, local integration or in extreme cases of persecution or insecurity, resettlement. At the start of 2014, over 51.2 million people were uprooted worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations. This staggering figure is the highest the world has registered at any point since the Second World War. Henley & Partners' support will be primarily focused on funding refugee registration and identification documents. UNHCR's Registration Program is in fact the starting point for all humanitarian assistance. Proper registration and documentation are key to allowing a refugee to access services, aid or protection under the law. Registration is also fundamental to identify those refugees who are most in need, such as female headed households, separated children and people with disabilities, and provide them with appropriate protection. UNHCR registration often provides the only form of documentation for these people. Sadly, this step is too generally perceived as an administrative process rather than as the gateway to protection and services in other countries, and rarely attracts donor funding. Beyond substantial financial support, Henley & Partners will also integrate advocacy actions for refugees in its corporate social responsibility program by organizing fundraising events and engaging its co-workers, partners and clients to help uprooted people around the world. The UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner, Alexander Aleinikoff, is expected to attend the Henley & Partners Forum in Zurich, Switzerland in May 2015, which will be the first of a long calendar of joint global activities to raise awareness about refugee challenges and solutions. A dedicated fundraising dinner for UNHCR will also be organized on 3 November 2015 in Dubai on the occasion of the Global Citizen Award launch at the Henley & Partners 9th Global Residence & Citizenship Conference, the world's leading event of its kind. Press Photos To view and download a selection of images relating to this press release, please go to: https://www.henleyglobal.com/press-images About UNHCR UNHCR was set up in 1951 to help the estimated 1 million people still uprooted after World War II to return home. Since then, they have helped find durable solutions for tens of millions of refugees through repatriation, local integration or in extreme cases of persecution or insecurity, resettlement. At the start of 2014, over 51.2 million people were uprooted worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations. There are now more people in desperate need of UNHCR assistance than at any point since the Second World War. http://www.unhcr.org About Henley & Partners Henley & Partners is the global leader in residence and citizenship planning. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals, families and their advisors rely on their expertise and experience in this area. The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of significant interest among the increasing number of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors who work with Henley & Partners. The firm also runs a government advisory practice, and have been involved in strategic consulting and the design, set-up and operation of several of the world's most successful residence and citizenship programs which attracted have more than USD 4 billion in foreign direct investment to date.   http://www.henleyglobal.com SOURCE Henley & Partners http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/henley--partners-forges-innovative-partnership-with-unhcr-296718421.html Thursday, January 30, 2014, 09:23 Henley & Partners to make at least €60m from citizenship scheme Henley & Partners stands to make at least €60m from its role as designer and principal contractor for Malta’s citizenship scheme, London’s The Independent has reported. The newspaper said the Jersey-registered firm is due to begin processing its first applicants next month. It criticised Malta for offering a passport within months with a minimal requirement for individuals to be resident. But yesterday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced further changes to the scheme, including the introduction of a requirement for residence status for one year. The changes were agreed with the European Commission. In spite of the changes, the newspaper said industry experts described the terms of the scheme, which also provided the right to visa-free travel to 69 non-EU countries, including the United States, as a “game changer”. The Independent said that the company’s Canadian chief executive Eric Major said Henley had received “hundreds” of expressions of interest. The scheme, it said, was "in stark contrast" to Malta’s attitude to less-moneyed visitors. "The EU’s smallest state was last year fined by the European Court of Human Rights after it was found that some of the thousands of migrants who land on its shores from North Africa were kept in conditions that amounted to inhuman or degrading treatment." The EU Observer also reported on the scheme saying the Maltese government introduced obligatory residence into the scheme under tremendous pressure from the European Commission. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140130/local/henley-partners-to-make-at-least.504753 ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT People are being shifted around the planet for resettlement as if these people were merely packaged goods being dropped off at waiting warehouses. They're being dropped on inhabitants of societies that have nothing in common with the displaced they've been assigned, in what appears to be some global system of shifting money and people. Societies that don't even look after their own are presumably expected to assume responsibility for a tsunami of 51.2 million displaced as at 2014. People need to stand up and tell leeches and partners of warmongers to shove their 'global mobility' programs. _____________ What the hell is the Malta scheme?  What is this rort? Introduced in the first quarter of 2014, the Malta Individual Investor Programme (IIP) offers citizenship in a EU Member State that is stable, neutral and highly respected, tying in a solid investment and a lasting bond with the country. The program allows for the grant of citizenship to duly qualified, reputable foreign individuals and families (EU and non-EU nationals) who make a significant contribution to the economic development of Malta. The new Malta Individual Investor Programme (also referred to as the Malta Citizenship Programme) will be a good opportunity for investors to contribute to the local Maltese economy whilst at the same time benefiting from a citizenship in Malta. Successful candidates will be granted citizenship by a certificate of naturalization, which can also be extended to include their families and dependent. The Maltese authorities guarantee an efficient application process, and the world’s strictest due diligence standards and vetting of applicants, thus ensuring only highly respectable clients will be admitted. Benefits Successful candidates will be awarded Malta citizenship, which automatically includes EU citizenship, thus giving the right of establishment in all 28 EU countries and Switzerland. Other benefits include the ability to work and/or set up business in Malta and visa-free travel to more than 160 countries in the world, including the USA. http://franksalt.com.mt/buying-a-property/property-purchase-by-foreign-nationals/malta-citizenship-by-investment-programme/ I can't believe what I’m looking at.  Europe for sale, via f*cking Malta? Oh, but it doesn't just come with automatic EU citizenship ... there's another 160 countries that are open to buyers of European citizenship for sale, who wish to travel elsewhere without visas. This is criminal, from my perspective. #Migpol #Eupol Prime Minister Joseph Muscat #Malta selling citizenship & #EU access to foreigners, as Europe's pimp http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/57286/busuttil_demands_clarity_over_maltas_secret_migrant_deal_with_italy ꕤ

LIBYA - DUELLING EMBASSIES IN MALTA

Monday, December 29, 2014, 11:39 Libyans hold protest outside Castille A small group of Libyan men this morning held a brief protest outside the Auberge de Castille in Valletta. [MALTA] The group, which supports the government installed in Tripoli, protested over the Maltese government's failure to recognise the Charge' d'Affairs operating from the embassy in Attard. [TRIPOLI GOVT = LIBYA DAWN = MISRATA = ATTARD, MALTA.] The Charge' d'Affairs supports the Tripoli government, which is based around Libya Dawn, a militant group from Misrata. Another charge' d'affairs, nominated by the recognised Libyan government - now based in Tobruk - is reportedly using consular offices in Ta' Xbiex. During the protest those who took part handed in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. They said they were surprised and hurt that the Maltese government had accepted an envoy of the 'illegal' Libyan Parliament as charge' d'Affairs of Libya. They insisted that this parliament had not achieved the 18% vote participation in the elections and lacked legal status in terms of the law, as confirmed by the Libyan Constitutional Court. [Tobruk] Those taking part in the protest carried placards reading: 'Respecting Libyan constitutional court sentence is respecting democratic rules and law.' Link:  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141229/local/libyans-hold-protest-outside-castille.549981 OMG! Trying to get to grips with what's going on in these articles about Libya's embassies (I've read more than one) is doing my head in -- big time.  Intended to give up on trying to figure it out, but I can't not figure it out or I won't know what's going for next time. Made a mistake earlier.  Saw Castille and took it to be in Spain.  Couldn't quite figure why a letter was handed over to to the Maltese head of state (via the embassy), but I imagined it was to pass on and didn't question further.   Turns out Castille Valletta is in Malta.  Oops.  Might have to do some editing tomorrow.  So the article is saying that the 'internationally' recognised government hiding out in Tobruk is the government that didn't achieve sufficient votes (according to a Libyan Supreme Court decision), yet this government is accepted as a Libyan envoy by the Maltese government. Meanwhile, the Tripoli government (aka Libya Dawn, Mistata govt), composed of militants that were the anti-Gaddafi rebels (if I recall correctly), has appointed it's own charge' d'Affairs of Libya, operating from an embassy in Attard, Malta, which the Maltese government isn't recognising. ---------------------------------------- Further from another source: New head of the Libyan Embassy in Malta (and Charge d'Affairs of the Libyan internationally-recognised government (Tobruk), Al-Habib Al-Amin): Al-Habib Al-Amin, said: "I have also been asked to let you know that the man currently occupying the Embassy, Mr Misurati is doing so illegally as it is Mr Al-Habib Al-Amin [who is] the legal representative of the legitimate  government." At Libyan embassy in Attard [Malta] = Hussain Musrati (or Misurati) Libya's acting Charge d'Affaire. The acting Chargé d'Affaires at the Libya Embassy in Malta accused the Maltese government of interfering in Libyan affairs by accepting the appointment by the Thinni government of former culture minister Habib Al-Amin as Libya's ambassador to Malta. The Thinni government was illegal because of the 6 November decision by the Supreme Court which nullified the House of Representatives and therefore all its decisions were illegal, Hussin Musrati said. He has been acting Chargé for since 20 November. He claimed that Malta is supporting Mr Al-Amin who was appointed by the Libyan Parliament which has now been dissolved. In doing so, Mr Misrati said, Malta is not respecting the verdict of the Libyan Constitutional Court and this has created a serious precedent. Speaking at a press conference this morning, Mr Musrati said that the Supreme Court's ruling had to be accepted. Although Habib Al-Amin had not taken up the post - he has been in Tunisia where a close member of his family was reported to have been having an operation - Mr Musrati said that he had managed to take over the embassy's bank accounts and vehicles. This was theft, he said, and a complaint had been lodged with the Maltese police.  [Habib Al-Amin has Libya embassy bank accounts & vehicles *illegally* given Supreme Court ruling.] Mr Misrati further attacked Bank of Valletta which, he claimed, has allowed unauthorised persons to take control over the embassy's bank accounts. A court action will be lodged against the bank. Mr Musrati said that Omar Al-Hassi's "National Salvation Government" was in contact with several European and African states and would be recognised by them shortly as Libya's legitimate government.  The Salvation Government was currently in control of the area from Sidra Port on the east to the border of Tunisia and from the coastline in Tripoli all the way to the south. It was also in control of airport and military bases, he said. The Central Bank of Libya was also working with Hassi's government, he said. Saddek Elkaber, sacked as the Central Bank's governor by the HoR but still recognised by the Hassi administration, is now largely based in Malta.  http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-20/local-news/Libyan-claims-to-be-the-real-representative-of-the-real-Libyan-government-6736127653 What's the problem here?   Omar Al-Hassi / Tripoli (Mistrata, Libya Dawn) government has the territory and has the Central Bank, as well as recognition of European states and African states - as well as a Libya Supreme Court ruling that the Tobruk 'government' cannot make up a government, so where exactly the issue?   The Tripoli / Mistrata government sounds legit, so what right has Malta -- or anyone else -- to choose a government for Libya? ....................................................... On second thoughts, I'm wondering if I've got it straight after all.  Need to double-check the Central Bank detail.  Might have to return to this because I need to confirm who the National Salvation Government is and check on that al-Hassi guy's details.  Picked him up on a translated French Wiki, but there wasn't anything much there.   Don't have time for this right now.  Another crap, incomplete post.  LOL