EU schemes to sell visas pose money laundering risks, campaign groups warn

Programs run by some European Union countries to sell passports and residency permits to wealthy foreign citizens pose risks of money laundering as some of the schemes are not properly managed, campaign groups said on Wednesday.

Government schemes to trade citizenship or residence rights for large investment are currently applied in 13 EU countries: Austria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Greece, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Britain, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and France. Hungary has terminated its program.

"If you have a lot of money that you acquired through dubious means, securing a new place to call home far away from the place you stole from isn't just appealing, it's sensible," Naomi Hirst of rights group Global Witness said.

She said checks on individuals that bought EU citizenship or residency permits were not satisfactory and exposed countries to...