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Citizenship by investment could be a corridor for bringing stolen money back, opinion


https://www.ipn.md/index.php/en/citizenship-by-investment-could-be-a-corridor-for-bringing-stolen-money-back-opi-7978_1043033.html

The provision of citizenship by investment could be a corridor by which to bring back the funds stolen from the Moldovan banking system, given that the investigations into the banking fraud aren’t over and the direct and indirect beneficiaries haven’t been held accountable, economic expert Veaceslav Negruta stated in the program “Politics of Natalia Morari” on TV8 channel, IPN reports.

Veaceslav Negruta said the difference between the Moldovan model, which is similar to the Maltese and Cypriote models, and the models applied by other countries to provide citizenship by investment is that in the case of the Republic of Moldova it is not about investment in business, but about lending to the state. “Those who will come with €250,000 and will lend these ill-gotten gains to the state in five years will get clean money from the state paid from the taxes collected from all the citizens, plus interest, as citizens of Moldova already,” stated the expert.

According to him, the citizenship will be provided not to people who flee wars or hard life, but to persons who have financial resources that they try to legalize. “We speak about people who look for a fiscal, financial paradise. These persons who will come here will not be very connected to the Republic of Moldova by activity,” said Veaceslav Negruta.