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These residency and citizenship by investment programmes recently sparked the ire of the European Commission, which accused countries selling such programmes of serving as the dark tunnel for money-laundering and corrupt individuals to burrow through. However, Cutajar stresses that the majority of applicants he has come face to face with — and there have been hundreds — were well-intentioned, legitimate investor migrants seeking to tap new opportunities. Conceding that inadequate due diligence systems and a lack of effective governance harmed these programmes, Cutajar believes outlawing them is not the solution. The way forward was singling out the flaws and developing sophisticated vetting mechanisms designed to sift out shady characters. These programmes, which offer wealthy individuals and families the opportunity to invest in a second permanent residency or citizenship had become a way of life Cutajar adds, and his objective is to meet and exceed clients’ expectations. Looking ahead, Cutajar’s vision is to position immVest international as a leader in investment migration services. He is confident Malta will continue to attract first-class investors and that these programmes will thrive as they are a win-win solution for the hosting country and the applicant. www.immvest.com Email: roderick.cutajar@immvest.com Roderick Cutajar 158 | Simply Abu Dhabi