Citizenship of the tiny republic may be on offer to those with half a million to spare, writes Daniel McLaughlin
MONTENEGRO IS offering citizenship in exchange for an investment of €500,000, in a scheme critics say will only enhance the country’s reputation for murky dealings.
“Interested persons will have to invest at least €500,000 in Montenegro as part of a qualification process for acquiring Montenegrin citizenship.
“Out of that amount, part of it is to be paid to the state budget directly,” the government announced.
“Clearly established criteria on the part of the Montenegrin government will assure legal security in the acquisition of Montenegrin citizenship . . . All applicants will be verified according to the strictest international standards.”
The tiny Adriatic state declared independence upon breaking peacefully with Serbia in 2006 and proceeded to attract a surge of foreign investment, particularly from rich Russians who liked its Slavic people, stunning coastline, visa-free travel regime and lightly regulated banking system.
While Montenegro's ruling elite portrayed it as a new Monaco, a sun-kissed, laissez-faire haven for Europe's glitterati, sceptics warned that it could quickly become a sanctuary for shady characters seeking a beautiful place to launder their money.
Local media regularly question the credentials of businessmen who have recently arrived in the country or intend to invest there, and several notorious Balkan mafia figures are rumoured to be hiding in Montenegro, contrary to the denials of police and officials.
While the government says the new “economic citizenship” law will help the country recover from the financial crisis, opponents claim that it will only attract more rich but dubious figures to Montenegro, whose citizens are now allowed to travel throughout the EU without a visa.
Nebojsa Medojevic, leader of the opposition Movement for Change, said the scheme would make Montenegro “a Mecca” for people looking “to launder money and to protect themselves from criminal prosecution”.
“The only motive for some tycoon, criminal or corrupt politician to take a Montenegrin passport is to avoid an arrest warrant,” he added, noting that the Montenegrin constitution does not allow the country to extradite its citizens.
“This will just increase reserve towards and suspicion of Montenegro as a state which is inadequately fighting against money laundering. The government’s measures will only encourage corrupt tycoons and politicians to find a new destination in Montenegro,” Mr Medojevic said.
The most prominent recent arrival in the country of 600,000 people is former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was convicted in absentia in his homeland for graft and is accused of terrorism in connection with this year’s deadly riots in Bangkok.
Mr Shinawatra denies all the charges against him and says he plans to invest money in Montenegro, possibly in luxury hotels along the coast where he has been staying.