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28th March 2024
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Chinese investor sues state over haircut

A CHINESE investor who transferred €15 million to Cyprus in order to get Cypriot nationality has sued the state after becoming a Bank of Cyprus haircut ‘victim’.

And his lawyer has also taken legal action against the island’s authorities warning them not to ‘suspend’ or ‘cancel’ his client’s Cypriot passport, identity card or nationality certificate.

High-profile Nicosia lawyer Loukis Papaphilippou won a temporary injunction that expires today.

The Interior Ministry said yesterday that it would take into consideration the extreme economic situation in Cyprus, and would not strip the citizenship of any foreigner.

Chinese Investor sues cyprus

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7 COMMENTS

  1. @Hector. I believe that a multimillion deposit/investment is required for citizenship. For the lesser benefit of a visiting/semi-resident visa right, the individual has to purchase a property for at least Euro 300,000 and bring into Cyprus at least €30,000 per annum in regular bank instalments from earnings abroad, plus meet other requirements.

    Regrettably, as with other nationalities that Cyprus has courted on this basis, the various agents and developers involved in selling have been economical with the truth to the buyers and have told them that by obtaining a visiting/semi-resident yellow slip they will have easy if not automatic entry rights into the rest of the EU. This may be true for such buyers in Schengen countries such as Malta but not for those in Cyprus. Only the small % who can afford full citizenship (and hence a Cypriot passport) will have an automatic entry right to other EU states.

  2. Is that how much it cost to get Cypriot citizenship? Wow. You would think that someone with that amount of money would have advisors to warn him!

  3. He didn’t have to invest 15m euros just to obtain Cypriot citizenship. As I understood it, all you had to do was buy a property at 350,000 euros. He was an investor, looking to earn high interest on his money or you could say, gambling on earning high interest. Nothing wrong with that. I’m sure he isn’t the only foreigner who has lost millions as a result of putting money into Cyprus. Where have I heard of foreigners losing large amounts of money as a result of ‘investing’ in Cyprus before? Strange feeling of Deja Vue. Be interesting to see how the legal system and courts deal with this and just how long it will drag on. I’m sure the Cyprus legal profession don’t see this as a licence to print money, do you?

  4. Unfortunately, the blurring of genuine investments with the laundering of dubious assets has prompted the EU to adopt a stringent bail-out stance which has resulted in a universal visit to the barber’s shop for accounts exceeding the new exemption threshold.

    The Troika is well aware of the millions of Euro arriving in Cyprus from Chinese and Russian sources and has obviously taken this into consideration. Suing anyone in Cyprus, let alone the State, is a lost cause in most peoples’ estimation.

  5. Just an afterthought, but will the offspring of all these new citizens from China, Russia et al have to serve in the national guard?

    Might be worth investigating this particular “benefit” of acquiring a Cypriot passport.

  6. When the unfortunate investor has finished fighting his case I am sure he will tell Cyprus where to stick their Citizenship.

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