Golden Passports

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 June 2018

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

So-called ‘citizenship-by-investment’ – the selling of passports - is a global industry worth billions of dollars and it’s completely legal. The idea is simple – invest huge sums of money in a country you want a passport from and in return acquire residency rights or citizenship, even visa-free access to all European member states. The UK offers residency in exchange for an investment of £2 million / $2.6 million – or for £10 million, the possibility of British citizenship within two years. And across the world, countries are vying to attract the super-rich through these schemes. But they are attracting attention for the wrong reasons.

European MEPs have launched an investigation into 'Golden Passport' programmes across Europe - including the UK - amid concerns that they pose a corruption risk. In the US, government financial investigators say individuals are buying citizenship to hide their true identity, in an attempt to flout economic sanctions against Iran. Alys Harte reporting.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there I'm Alice Hart. Thanks for downloading this podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:06.0	Did you know that if you have enough money, you could pay your way towards a second passport,
0:12.0	and it's completely legal. In this week's assignment we
0:15.4	examine the global citizenship by investment industry and ask if these schemes are
0:20.1	open to abuse, a way for criminals and laundered money to move around the world too easily.
0:26.5	Keep listening to find out.
0:29.6	I'm about to speak to a man in the Caribbean who works in the passport trade.
0:34.0	Oh hello I'm looking to speak with Nuri Katz please.
0:45.0	Yes, this is Nari.
0:46.0	He helps get second citizenships for the super rich.
0:50.0	Hi, how are you doing's Iles in the UK?
0:53.0	Yes, how are you?
0:54.0	I believe you're the man to speak to.
0:56.0	But this is not the black market.
1:01.0	This is entirely legal.
1:06.0	You see people buying fancy cars and then they buy fancy houses and then they get the fancy boat and the fancy plane and so there are those who just
1:16.6	think that having a second passport is a status symbol.
1:22.4	Paying your way to a second possible status symbol.
1:28.0	Paying your way to a second passport is called citizenship by investment.
1:37.0	I'm Illis Hart and this is assignment on the BBC World Service. The idea is simple. Invest huge sums of money and in return acquire citizenship of that country and with it visa-free access
1:45.6	to scores of other countries around the world.
1:49.7	Countries like the UK and the US and Canada have programs whereby if you invest a certain amount,
	...

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