Bulgarian authorities have revoked the citizenship of a total of 17 people acquired through the Golden Passport program following the National Assembly’s decision to abolish the program.
The announcement was confirmed by Acting Justice Minister Krum Zarkov. At the same time, he said that among those whose citizenship was revoked, four were Egyptian citizens, four Russians, four Kazakhs, three Chinese, two Pakistanis and one Jordanian. SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In February 2022, the Bulgarian National Assembly approved changes to the country’s citizenship law to allow for the removal of this program which allowed third-country nationals to acquire citizenship by making a financial investment and completing specific conditions.
With a total of 218 votes in favor, Bulgarian lawmakers adopted amendments to the law at first reading, following the European Union Parliament’s request to abolish the program after, according to EU authorities, it has been involved in numerous illegal affairs.
Before the Balkan country’s decision to end the Golden Passport program, local media revealed that in several cases, those who acquired citizenship through investment failed to complete the investment.
Furthermore, the European Union authorities have repeatedly asked Bulgaria to put an end to this highly criticized project.
According to Zarkov, the State Agency for National Security, as well as other state institutions, were counting the checks and any violations found would trigger appropriate actions.
“Regarding members, the families of these people are assessed on a case-by-case basis to see if the citizenship application was made on a non-existent legal basis. The problem of golden passports has been solved.” he pointed out, according to Sofia.
Bulgaria’s Golden Passport program was introduced in 2009 to attract wealthy foreign investors who would contribute financially to the country while offering them citizenship of that country.
Following the removal of this program, authorities in the country are now investigating passports granted under the citizenship by investment program.
Earlier this year, a Euractiv report revealed that the country’s prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation against the former head of the Bulgarian investment agency Stamen Yanev, after he was accused of criminal inaction.
Furthermore, in December last year, Bulgarian authorities reported that a total of 12 passports granted under the citizenship by investment program had also been revoked.
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