Geopolitical woes spike demand for second passports

by Sarah Diaa, Staff Reporter,  -- gulfnews -- Dubai: Despite strong warnings about citizenship-by-investment programmes, a growing number of expatriates in the UAE are buying second passports, spurred by mounting concerns over geopolitical instability in the region. According to Savory & Partners, a Dubai-based firm that offers citizenship-by-investment services, the top nationalities seeking a second passport in the UAE are Pakistanis, Syrians, Indians, Lebanese and Egyptians. This comes even as the European Commission prepares to toughen its stance against European governments that offer citizenship through an investment scheme. A Financial Times report in mid-August cited the European Union’s Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, who said that such programmes will come under tougher scrutiny as part of a wider drive against money laundering and corruption. And it’s not just the EU. Citizenship-by-investment programmes have long raised eyebrows among politicians, lawyers and other experts, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) classifying some countries that offer these programmes as offshore financial centres. But in the UAE, demand for it is surging.

In 2017 alone, Savory & Partners saw a 219 per cent jump in the number of Syrians looking to invest in a second passport. Meanwhile, the number of Iraqis increased by 113 per cent year-on-year, with 73 per cent more interest for second passports overall in 2017 over 2016. “The Arab Spring kicked things off, but in the last two years, events unfolding in Qatar, Saudi, the war in Yemen, the lack of a prime minister for a couple of years in Lebanon — each of those events had a trigger effect,” said Jeremy Savory, CEO and founder of Savory & Partners. “Syria was already a big market, but I think what’s happened is as [Syrian President Bashar Al] Assad has been strengthening his position, a lot of Syrians have given up hope that there is an end in sight.” Savory told Gulf News that the top countries where UAE-based expatriates are applying for a second passport are Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Dominica offers passports for individuals an investment of $100,000 (Dh367,000), which goes to the government income, while Saint Kitts and Nevis offers passports for $195,000 for a family. In European countries, Savory’s clients in the UAE are mostly investing in Cyprus. Savory said that he expected to see an increase of 40 per cent year-on-year by the end of 2018 compared to 2017. ‘Trophy for the wealthy’ This surge in demand isn’t specific to the UAE.

A Bloomberg News report dubbed second passports the latest “trophy for the ultra-wealthy.” Christian Kalin, chairman of Henley & Partners, told Bloomberg that wealthy buyers are looking for security and peace of mind in case of any instability in their home countries. “It’s the latest status symbol. We’ve had clients who simply like to collect a few,” Kalin told Bloomberg. For Savory, the company’s founder said that his UAE-based clients have an average net worth between $5 million and $10 million, but most likely even higher. “If you’re doing a donation of $100,000 without getting a return, that’s not going to be your life savings or your kids’ education savings, so you’re probably worth at least $1 million to $2 million, because something like a second nationality, you’d probably allocate 8-10 per cent maximum of your net worth,” he said. Political criticism

So what exactly do critics have against these programmes?

A UAE-based tax lawyer that Gulf News spoke to said that many are concerned that such programmes may attract the wrong people, specifically sanctioned individuals. “There are genuine cases where [these programmes] serve good purposes, but they may be abused, too. Firms that provide these services have strict due diligence to make sure applicants are legit. But incentive schemes are also used by people who’d like to have another passport for tax purposes,” said the lawyer who asked to remain anonymous. European politicians have also said that citizenship in Europe should not be up for sale, and that citizenship-by-investment schemes could provide a backdoor for individuals from Russia looking to avoid sanctions in their home country. Asked about that, advocates of the citizenship programmes say their clients are usually looking for security for their families. Henley & Partners’ Kalin told Bloomberg that stability — not tax avoidance — is what motivates most buyers, while Savory said that many are looking to take hold of their identity.

Lebanon to export wine to China

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- The Chinese market has opened its doors to receive Lebanon's wine products after great efforts by the Lebanese ministries of agriculture and foreign affairs, said Louis Lahoud, director general of the ministry of agriculture, on Thursday. "We are about to coordinate with the Chinese embassy in Lebanon to market our Lebanese wine products in China," Lahoud said according to Lebanon's Presidency website. Lahoud's remarks came during a visit for General Director of the General Organization of Vineyards and Wine Jean-Marie Oran to Baabda palace to meet with President Michel Aoun. Lahoud emphasized the need to launch advertising campaigns to promote the Lebanese wine in coordination with other ministries, in addition to encouraging Lebanese expats to consume local wine in a bid to protect farmers and help them increase their production. Meanwhile, Aoun underlined the importance of cooperating with the General Organization of Vineyards and Wine in exchanging expertise. For his part, Oran said that Lebanon has been an active member in the organization since 1995. He also gave an overview about the activities of the organization in drafting rules for producing high quality wine in addition to removing obstacles facing the exchange in expertise between member countries. Lebanon has long been a rich terrain for vineyards. The country's production of wine goes back to more than 5,000 years ago when the Phoenicians were making wine in Lebanon and trading it throughout the Mediterranean and Europe.

Beirut airport's officials must be fired over software error: Lebanese anti-corruption adviser

BEIRUT, (Xinhua) -- Beirut airport's manager and general director of civil aviation must be suspended from their jobs for failing to fulfill their responsibilities and duties, Lebanese anti-corruption official said Wednesday. A software error at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA) led to flights delays, causing great chaos and congestion in the airport's departure halls on Sept. 6 and 7. "The chaos that happened at the airport last week is unacceptable and should not be repeated," Wadih Akl, advisor to the State Ministry for Combating Corruption, was quoted by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper, as saying. Akl said that Beirut airport's manager and director of civil aviation are currently under investigation. "Corruption must stop in all public departments and every corrupted employee must be suspended from work," Akl said. He added that there are a lot of other highly skilled people who are willing to work in such positions and do a very good job if they are given the chance. Congestion at RHIA has been a hot topic in Lebanon lately. Officials have on many occasions called for the expansion of the airport in Beirut for the increasing number of passengers in addition to replacing old equipment. Earlier this year, Lebanese Finance Ministry approved 18 million U.S. dollars in funding for the expansion. Renovation work at the airport is expected to start in November.

Brazil’s da Silva Steps Aside, Names Haddad as Replacement Candidate

By Jeffrey T. Lewis and Luciana Magalhaes SÃO PAULO—Brazil’s leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in jail for corruption, on Tuesday formally gave up his quixotic battle to run again in October’s election from his cell, naming former São Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad as his replacement in the campaign. “Starting today, Fernando Haddad will be Lula for millions of Brazilians,” Mr. da Silva said in a letter read Tuesday at a ceremony in front of the police station where he is serving out his 12-year sentence. Mr. Haddad is known more for building bicycle paths during his single term as mayor of Brazil’s biggest city than for the charisma and connection with the poor that would ease his path to winning a fifth consecutive presidential election for the Workers’ Party. The decision announced Tuesday by party leaders, while widely expected, is the latest turn in a wild presidential race that polls show is currently led by Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate who last week suffered serious wounds when he was stabbed in the gut at a campaign rally and is still in the hospital recovering.

Mr. Haddad, who once served as minister of education under Mr. da Silva, had been the former president’s running mate. He joins the race for the presidency in fifth place among the 13 candidates competing in the Oct. 7 election, according to a survey published earlier Tuesday by polling company Datafolha. If no candidate wins more than half the vote in the first round, a second round of voting between the top two finishers will take place on Oct. 28. The former mayor, a smooth-talking, 55-year-old lawyer with a master’s degree in economics and a doctorate in philosophy, is in some ways the opposite of Mr. da Silva, 72, a gruff-voiced metalworker with a grade-school education who came from a poor family and went on to become president of his union and then, in 2002, win his first national election. Mr. Haddad has said he would nevertheless govern in much the same way as Mr. da Silva, who founded their Workers’ Party, governed Brazil until 2010 and left office with the highest popularity ratings for any president in the country’s history. “Lula was a great conciliator who always negotiated with all social classes, from trash collectors to bankers,” Mr. Haddad said in a recent interview with Globo News. “He always had the door to the [presidential palace] open for all Brazilians, and that’s how we intend to govern the country.” Like Mr. da Silva, Mr. Haddad has legal problems. Earlier this month, the ex-mayor was accused by prosecutors of illegally accepting money to pay off campaign debts. A judge is now examining the charges and would need to accept them for Mr. Haddad to face trial. Mr. Haddad has denied any wrongdoing.

The married father of two, son of a Lebanese immigrant father and a Brazilian mother also of Lebanese descent, championed as mayor of São Paulo measures to boost recycling and to house and rehabilitate the city’s homeless and drug addicts. In starting his campaign for the presidency less than a month before the first round of voting, the Workers’ Party’s new candidate faces a rough road. Mr. Haddad was supported by only 9% of the 2,804 people surveyed by Datafolha on Monday about their voting intentions. But in a poll earlier this year by Datafolha, 30% of those surveyed said they would vote for whomever Mr. da Silva picked to replace him, and analysts say Mr. Haddad should start to benefit from his close connection with his former boss. “Now that Haddad is the heir to [Mr. da Silva’s] legacy, the transfer of those voting intentions could start to intensify,” said Pedro Fassoni Arruda, a political science professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. “It’s clear he’s the candidate chosen by Lula.” Mr. da Silva, who led in polls as recently as the end of August, is still expected to loom over the election as he tries to transfer his popularity to Mr. Haddad. Lula, as Mr. da Silva is popularly known, oversaw years of economic growth and rising incomes in Brazil while implementing social programs to help the country’s poor. Mr. da Silva, his party’s candidate for president five times, won in his last two attempts, in 2002 and 2006. His hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, won in 2010 and 2014 but was impeached and removed from office in 2016 for violating budget laws.

Lebanese lawmaker says capital airport needs management instead of expansion

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- The Rafic Hariri International Airport in Lebanese capital Beirut is not in need for expansion but only needs to be properly organized to host increasing passengers, said Parliament Member Yassin Jaber on Tuesday. "It is not necessary to pay 100 million U.S. dollars to expand the airport in the midst of the current deteriorating economic situation," he was quoted by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper, as saying. Jaber noted that Beirut's airport covers an area of 5.5 square kilometers and hosted 8 million passengers in 2018 while French city Nice's airport covers 3.7 square kilometers but it was capable of hosting 13 million passengers in 2017. Officials have on many occasions called for the expansion of the airport in Beirut for the increasing number of passengers. A study released by the airport's research and studies department in March 2018 predicted that as many as 10 million passengers would travel via the airport by 2020 while it has the capacity of hosting only 6 million passengers annually. Lebanese Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos said last month that the airport is in need of 100 million dollars for renovation and expansion. Earlier this year, Lebanese Finance Ministry approved 18 million dollars in funding for the expansion.

Aoun: UNRWA funding cut to settle refugees in Lebanon

by middleeastmonitor.com -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Monday that the US decision to cut funding for the UN refugee agency UNRWA was the beginning to settle Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Speaking to reporters during his flight from Lebanon to France, Aoun said he will discuss the UNRWA issue during his visit to the European Parliament. “This issue could form the start for settling (refugees in Lebanon), which is banned by the Lebanese Constitution and rejected by the Lebanese people,” he said. Aoun arrived in Strasbourg on Monday for a three-day visit upon an invitation by Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament. During the visit, Aoun will discuss relations between Lebanon and the EU as well as a host of regional and international issues. Last month, the US State Department said Washington would “no longer commit funding” to the UNRWA. The US had been UNRWA’s largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million annually — roughly a quarter of the agency’s overall budget. Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.