Russian oligarchs and other very wealthy people were able to gain a Cyprus passport and have access to the EU in return for $500,000, according to a national audit. 

Significant flaws have been exposed in Cyprus's Investment Programme or 'golden visas' scheme between 2008 to 2020. Widespread corruption has been found in the system offering EU passports to wealthy migrants, including many Russians.

A 192-page report released by the Cyprus Auditor-General concludes some ministers and MPs were often not properly informed about the applications of those seeking EU citizenship, and only "seemed to care" if the half-million-dollar property investment was forthcoming.

READ MORE

UK woman's search for missing Chinese father

Europe's cost-of-living crisis

Berlin's historic gas lamps under threat

In many cases the Council of Ministers advisory board approved a number of applications knowing they did not meet the criteria, including many by Russian oligarchs and a fugitive from Vietnam.

The report says the citizenship by investment scheme or so called 'cash-for-passports scheme' wasn't robust enough. Corruption was widespread and investments were not properly reported to the tax office, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in public revenue.

The findings show that the majority of cases provided false information. What's more, at least 3,800 people were naturalized as EU citizens because they were supposedly relatives of wealthy investors, yet their applications didn't provide information about their connection to them.

The report also emphasized that the interior minister failed on many occasions to provide proper record-keeping.

The EU began investigating the 'golden visas' scheme after it was revealed the majority of those applying were from Russia. In 2020 some MPs were removed from the advisory board and the program was tightened, excluding citizens from some countries including Russia.

But EU findings show that in 2021 more than 400 applications were approved and over 100 this year alone, most of them Russian. The EU commission says it will investigate these too.

It's not only Cyprus that has an investment visa scheme. Several other EU countries offer passports for cash, including Malta, the Netherlands and Latvia. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss a blanket ban on Russian tourist and investment visas during a meeting in Prague by the end of the month.