A three-year investigation into Cyprus's "golden passport" scheme has ended. The investigation found no proof of criminal activity. This result clears the name of the former president's political party and his family members.
The investigation started after a complaint from an opposition politician. He suggested that political donations were connected to giving foreigners citizenship. He also questioned a large property sale involving the former president's son-in-law. The anti-corruption authority looked into whether giving passports to 13 foreign investors was linked to a €4.7 million property deal. The authority's final report said it found no evidence connecting citizenship approvals to donations. It also found no sign of corruption.
However, the investigation had many problems and people have criticised it. For example, the authority could not find important people from the Russian bank that bought the property. The bank had already stopped its operations in Cyprus. The politician who made the original complaint said the long delay made it very difficult to prove his claims. He also said that even if no laws were broken, the situation still showed a clear conflict of interest.
People also criticised the authority itself. Critics say there is a conflict of interest because the government under investigation chose the authority's officials. A newspaper called the authority a "toothless body" and said its findings are not legally powerful.
Now that the investigation is over, the public discussion is changing. People are now asking if the country's anti-corruption system is strong enough to stop corruption in the future.