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

There are many practical benefits, like

💱 Laundering illicit funds via approved projects like real estate or bonds.

🔍 Bypassing sanctions screening by flashing a fresh, unflagged passport and slipping past routine checks.

🏦 Seamless access to stable banking and credit facilities in the new home country.

🔒 Evading sanctions by adopting a new national identity and passport that hides links to embargoed regimes or flagged individuals.

🏠 Investing in real estate, especially in luxury properties or land, is a perfect laundering vehicle.

🛡️ Shielding assets from home-country seizure by moving title deeds offshore under a new citizen's name.

📶 Unlimited access to global telecom and data services.

✈️ Visa-free travel and access to local markets without scrutiny.

General perception of citizenship by investment is negative: these programs are exploited by criminals to launder illicit proceeds disguised as approved real-estate or bond investments, granting them unflagged access to financial systems; they can fuel real estate price inflation - IMF data show a first-year price jump of up to 3% and effects persisting for a decade^[ref] - worsening housing affordability for native residents.

Transparency International finds that roughly half of EU-issued golden passports have gone to Russian nationals, including oligarchs^[ref], underscoring the security and reputational hazards and, despite lofty fee revenues, the total number of CBI-granted citizens remains vanishingly small relative to the local population, meaning that net economic benefits rarely offset the increased crime, governance burdens, and social distortions.