The so-called “citizenship for investment” law must be repealed for being harmful and fraught with risks, ACUM lawmakers have argued today while putting a draft motion to this effect up for public consultation.

 

“After leaving Moldova without foreign funding thanks to abuses and anti-democratic conduct, this government, or rather the oligarchic regime tries to attract funds and investment using dubious alternate methods. One such method is the attempt to offer Moldovan citizenship for sale for either a 100,000 euros donation or a 250,000 euros investment”, said Maia Sandu, co-president of the political bloc ACUM. She said the law had been adopted in a non-transparent manner and in the absence of a genuine public debate.

 

ACUM lawmaker Alexandru Slusari declared that Moldova has become Europe’s champion in defying international good practice. “What is a responsible government to do if it wants to attract investment? Ensure a favorable investment climate, consolidate rule of law, fight grand corruption, create modern infrastructure, reduce regulatory inspection pressure on businesses, and curb massive migration of the workforce”.

 

Attending the consultation, ex-finance minister Veaceslav Negruța, currently an expert with Transparency International Moldova, agreed the citizenship for money act could pose risks, in particular that of our country becoming “a hub of laundering dirty money”. “Our recommendation at Transparency International Moldova is that this law should be terminated”.

 

Daniel Goinic, counselor at the Legal Resource Center NGO, voiced similar concerns. “As long as we don’t know who the beneficiaries (of the citizenship for money) are, we can’t know the origin of the money invested in our country, which then comes back clean and with interest”.

 

ACUM says repealing the law would be in the citizens’ best interest, and voters need to put pressure on their representatives to make this happen.