Last week, when President Trump announced plans for the U.S. to sell “gold card” visas to wealthy foreigners, those of us working in the field of anti-corruption were dismayed. A $5 million ticket to U.S. residency with a “strong path to citizenship” could hand corrupt individuals a golden escape route to find safe haven for themselves and their ill-gotten money.
In his announcement, the president also said that the policy had “never been done before, anything like this.”
If only that were true.
The proposal has the shape and smell of “golden passport” programs—citizenship-by-investment schemes that have been in place across the Caribbean and Europe for some time. Some programs on offer in the EU were designed as visa schemes but have included a fast track to citizenship, much like the gold cards teased by Trump.
Across Europe, some countries have successfully used the scheme to sell the rights and benefits of EU citizenship, including greater mobility and fewer restrictions when opening a bank account or starting a business—advantages that can be misused for illicit activities. Over the past decade, wealthy foreigners have purchased citizenship or residency in EU countries where they have no real ties, with governments often accepting payments with minimal scrutiny, exposing the EU to risks of corruption and money laundering.
While not all people who buy such visas are corrupt or dubious, there are many examples of how shady individuals pounced on the opportunity to have EU citizenship. For example, Russian businessman Pavel Melnikov obtained Maltese citizenship just two years after obtaining a St Kitts & Nevis passport. In his letter of intention, he said that he wanted to learn English in Malta. A few years later, Melnikov’s company in Finland was raided by Finnish police as part of a money-laundering probe. There are several other clear-cut examples in the case of Malta.
An investigation by Al Jazeera showed how an investment of over €2 million in Cyprus secured EU citizenship for at least 30 people who have pending criminal charges or convictions, as well as 40 politically exposed persons.
The abuses were so extensive and so grave that pressure from the European Commission and the public led to the abolition of some programs. This was the case in Cyprus in November 2020 and in Bulgaria in March 2022.
The EU considered the issue settled. However, Malta refused to end its own scheme, leading the Commission to pursue a ban through the EU Court of Justice. A case against Malta— challenging the legality of such schemes—is currently pending a decision.
The outcome of this case will have major implications. A decision favorable to Malta would not only maintain the status quo but also entitle other EU countries to create similar programs. We’ll again have cases of jurisdiction-shopping. Countries will race to the bottom, lowering their standards to gain a competitive edge. The EU’s doors will be wide open to the corrupt and criminals once again.
Golden visa and passport programs have brought little to no benefit to countries where they exist. They’ve increased pressure on the housing markets and pushed locals out of the cities.
Explicitly inviting Russian oligarchs may be saying the quiet part out loud, as golden visas and passport programs have been marketed as schemes for exceptional global citizens but have instead welcomed the corrupt and money launderers to the EU.
Openly inviting the corrupt and criminals to purchase citizenship never ends well. The evidence from Europe is clear: These schemes don’t just pose risks; they actively enable crime and contribute to widening inequality. If history is any guide, selling gold cards won’t strengthen the U.S.; it will weaken it.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
Read more:
- The golden age of the Golden Visa might be coming to an end
- Trump says U.S. can pay off $36 trillion debt by selling $5 million “gold card” visas
- What’s a Golden Visa and where can you still get one?
- Golden Visa chasers helped pump $4.2 billion into Portuguese property last year—scrapping the scheme probably won’t help locals get on the housing ladder