Golden Passport Fund in Malta Operates Without Clear Spending Rules, Audit Office Finds

After obtaining a majority stake in Lombard Bank, the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) was discovered to lack a formal written policy or procedure for deciding which projects receive funding, AtoZSerwisPlus.mt reports.

In its annual report, the National Audit Office noted that there is no official record for declined projects. The NDSF finances significant national projects using millions of euros generated from the selling of passports to wealthy foreign persons for more than €1 million, along with other residency programs.

According to a report from Malta Today, last year the agency received a total of €30 million in grants. In addition, it invested a total of €55 million from its savings in shares in government stocks and shares of local banks and projects reaching €14 million.

The National Audit Office examined  the following six sample projects:

• A €10 million renovation of primary healthcare clinics.
• €5 million granted to the MFA’s national football center.
• €4.5 million allocated for urban greening projects in ?amrun, Mosta, Qormi, and ?abbar, managed by WasteServ.
• €5 million granted for developing a total of30 apartments in the United Kingdom in order to accommodate Maltese patients under the PuttinuCares Foundation.
• €1 million granted for the Mdina illumination project.
• €53,000 distributed for the restoration of the St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral’s rooftop.

The National Audit Office also recommended that the Fund should hire a specialized technical company in order to verify invoices. In the case of the football center and primary health clinics, a total of 90 per cent of the funds were advanced before any audit, and the grants were assigned only on the basis of invoices provided by the beneficiaries.

In addition, the NAO also noted that the NDSF made a total of €15,000 in donations to two recipients last year, without following a documented policy. These donations also included a total of €10,000 to a charity organization telethon on April 15, last year, and a €5,000 contribution requested by the Maltese Ambassador to the Vatican, to cover part of the costs for bringing and displaying the vestment of St. Pope Pius V in Valletta for a whole month from October 10, 2022.

The Golden Passport of Malta allows wealthy internationals to acquire citizenship provided they meet the needed conditions and invest in this country.

The Minister for National Security Byron Camilleri, in February this year, announced that since its introduction,  a total of 1,532 applicants have acquired citizenship in this country through the Golden Passport scheme.

However, the program is often criticized for being involved in irregular affairs such as corruption and money laundering among others.

In March this year, it was reported that a fund that administers hundreds of millions of euros brought to Malta from the Golden Passport scheme still didn’t make its audited accounts for 2021 public.

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