Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programs Under the Scrutiny of the FATF and OECD
13/12/2023 2025-06-25 14:53Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programs Under the Scrutiny of the FATF and OECD
Citizenship and Residency by Investment Programs Under the Scrutiny of the FATF and OECD
Edited by Sergio Silvestri
On November 22nd in Paris, the international financial watchdogs, the FATF and the OECD, warned about the potential flaws of citizenship and residence by investment (CBI/RBI) programs. These programs, while designed to accelerate economic growth by encouraging foreign investment, are unfortunately attracting attention for their darker side.
According to the latest studies, these tools facilitate money laundering activities and allow criminals and the corrupt to evade justice, moving sums reaching billions of dollars.
The growing need for transparency and integrity has been addressed by a joint FATF and OECD project exploring the risks of money laundering and financial crime associated with CBI/RBI programs.
The report highlights how these programs can be exploited to commit transnational crimes, highlighting the need to strengthen measures against corruption, money laundering, and fraud, with particular attention to the consequences for public integrity, tax policies, and migration flows.
FATF Chairman T. Raja Kumar emphasized the need for reform: “Granting citizenship and residency through ‘golden passport’ programs can be a driver of economic growth, but it is imperative that governments implement risk-aware safeguards.”
OECD Secretary-General Cormann revealed how the abuse of these programs constitutes a billion-dollar industry for laundering the proceeds of fraud and corruption, offering a list of mitigating measures for policymakers and program operators.
The joint paper not only identifies risks but also proposes concrete solutions, underscoring the importance of in-depth analysis to understand how criminals can exploit CBI/RBI programs and how governments can integrate effective risk mitigation measures, including a multi-level due diligence process.
Faced with these challenges, the European School of Banking Management is strengthening its commitment to high-level training. Through the Master's Anti-Money Laundering Diploma and the AMLACERT Certification, the school equips future professionals with the skills to identify and counter threats to international financial security, promoting practices of integrity and transparency that are essential in this complex and constantly evolving field.
SOURCE: fatf-gafi.org
