Ever wondered why fraudsters would spend money on getting another passport?

There are many practical benefits, like

💱 Laundering illicit funds through approved channels such as real estate, bonds, or development funds.

🔍 Evading sanctions and screening by using a fresh passport, a new nationality, and unflagged identity details.

🏦 Gaining easier access to stable banking, credit facilities, and financial systems in the new jurisdiction.

🏠 Parking and legitimizing wealth through real estate, especially where property can absorb large sums and appreciate quietly.

🛡️ Shielding assets from scrutiny, seizure, or instability in the home country by relocating ownership under a new legal identity.

📶 Accessing telecom, digital, and business services that may be harder to obtain under a higher-risk nationality or profile.

✈️ Traveling more freely and entering markets with less friction, fewer questions, and stronger perceived legitimacy.

The broader concern is not theoretical. FATF and OECD warn that citizenship and residency by investment programmes can be exploited to launder the proceeds of fraud and corruption, evade justice, and gain access to third countries.

The IMF also finds that these schemes can push up house prices (by up to 3%) and that the effects persist for a decade^[ref], worsening affordability for local residents.

For countries that sell access too cheaply or vet too weakly, the short-term revenue may come with longer-term costs: governance risk, reputational damage, housing pressure, and a more attractive environment for exactly the kind of investor they should be keeping out.

Transparency International has warned that Russians reportedly made up nearly half of beneficiaries in certain EU golden passport schemes, illustrating how easily these programmes can become magnets for sanctions risk, reputational damage, and dirty money^[ref].