Portugal's 'golden visas' tainted by graft with rich Chinese main targets
Portugal's border service chief and 10 others investigated over corruption in granting residency, with rich Chinese the main targets
PUBLISHED : Friday, 14 November, 2014, 11:01am
UPDATED : Saturday, 15 November, 2014, 3:18am
Agence France-Presse in Lisbon
Portuguese police arrested Manuel Jarmela Palos, the head of the frontier police agency SEF. Photo: RTP
Portuguese police have arrested the head of the border service and 10 others in a probe into corruption in the granting of so-called "golden visas" to foreign investors, mostly rich Chinese.
The interior and environment ministries were among dozens of locations searched on Thursday, along with offices linked to the justice ministry and the headquarters of the border police.
"No one is above the law. The time of impunity is over," Justice Minister Paula Teixeira Cruz said, calling on those who have tarnished the image of public institutions to resign.
Those arrested on Thursday included Manuel Jarmela Palos, the head of the frontier police agency SEF, and a senior official in the justice ministry, the Lusa news agency said, quoting several police and governmental sources.
Among other duties, SEF is the agency responsible for border control and the issuing of residence permits to foreign nationals living legally in Portugal.
The prosecutor's office said there were 60 raids ongoing nationwide and that several arrest warrants had been issued for "corruption, influence peddling, siphoning funds and money laundering".
Portugal launched the "golden visa" scheme in 2012 while grappling with a debt crisis. Neighbouring Spain and some other EU countries have similar programmes.
Under the scheme, foreign investors buying property worth €500,000 (HK$4.83 million) or more and keeping it for at least five years got residency rights in Portugal. More importantly, they were all granted visa-free travel throughout the European Union's 26-country Schengen zone without restriction.
Since its launch, the scheme has raked in more than €1 billion. A total of 1,649 golden visas have been granted, most of them to Chinese nationals, who made up about 80 per cent of all recipients. Citizens of Russia, Brazil, and Angola are among the others who have them.
The other options offered to get residency rights in Portugal include transferring at least €1 million into the country or creating at least 10 new jobs there.
Once the residency rights have been granted, the beneficiaries are only required to spend seven days in a year in Portugal.
Left-wing political parties said they planned to question Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas on the golden visas in parliament. Opposition politicians have long claimed the scheme may open the door to criminals and stoke corruption. The government insisted its checks of applicants met EU standards, but in June acknowledged it was investigating corruption allegations.
Additional reporting from Reuters
