We are writing to update you on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus Investment Program (“CIP”) as some amendments and clarifications were decided in a meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 25th 2019 and were published in the official Gazette of the Republic on 23rd August 2019.
The Program’s financial requirements are still the same and the amendments introduced have come to enhance the protection of all stakeholders by applying higher standards as to the eligibility of the applicants and to regulate the payment of the donations.
All the amendments can be found below:
- As of May 15th 2019, applicants were required to make the following two donations: a donation to the “Research Promotion Foundation” for the amount of €75.000; and a donation to the “Cyprus Land Development Corporation” for the amount of €75.000.
Following the decision of the Council of Ministers on July 25th 2019, these donations can be made after the approval of the main applicant’s application. - Investors who choose to make a combination of investments will now have the option to invest up to the amount of €200.000 on the secondary market via the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE).
- Persons classified as ‘high risk’ will not be eligible to apply. High risk persons are the persons falling into the following categories:
-Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), who hold or have held a public office over the past five years.
-Individuals who are under criminal investigation without being charged
-Individuals who are being prosecuted and are in custody - Individuals sentenced to imprisonment for serious offenses (eg. bribery, tax evasion, etc.) and they have served the sentencing period.
- Individuals affiliated with legal entities e.g. shareholders or senior executive officers of a company, against which the EU has adopted restrictive measures and which are included in the EU list of sanctions.
- Individuals who used to be affiliated (but no longer are) with legal entities e.g. shareholders or senior executive officers of companies, against whom the EU has adopted restrictive measures and which are included in a sanctions list and who were affiliated with the legal entities at the time the restrictive measures were adopted against them. Individuals who have resigned prior to the adoption of the restrictive measures against the legal entity, are exempt.
- Individuals against whom sanctions have been adopted by third countries (e.g. the US, Ukraine, Russia).
- Individuals affiliated with legal entities against which sanctions have been adopted by third countries.
- Individuals who are under investigation/prosecution for criminal offences and are wanted by EUROPOL or INTERPOL.
- Individuals who were under investigation/prosecution for criminal offences and were wanted by EUROPOL or INTERPOL.
- Individuals against whom sanctions have been adopted by the United Nations Security Council.