11 More People Received Moldovan Citizenship Through Investing

President Igor Dodon signed a decree granting Moldovan citizenship in exchange for investments to 11 more foreign citizens. The document was published on August 7 in the Official Monitor. According to the document, we are talking about six foreign citizens and five members of their families. No recipients’ names are provided. Note that in December last year, the TV channel 8 reported that Russian businessman Andrey Goncharenko who gained control over Avia Invest SRL and took over the concession of Chisinau International Airport submitted the documents to obtain Moldovan citizenship in exchange for investments. According to the TV channel, this happened back in July 2019. Together with Andrey Goncharenko, several other people bearing the same surname were on the list for obtaining citizenship, possibly the businessman's relatives. Recall that on June 18, 2020, the Moldovan parliament voted to abolish the law on citizenship in exchange to investment. It will cease operating on September 1, 2020, when the previously imposed by parliament moratorium expires. In the summer of 2019, the moratorium on citizenship in exchange for investment was introduced in Moldova and it was supposed to expire on December 24, 2019, but still got extended again. 97 people submitted applications to introduce the moratorium for Moldovan citizenship as the Public Services Agency informes. Eight foreigners became citizens of Moldova under this program. Citizens of Australia, India, Canada, China, Great Britain, Syria, South Africa, Russia, Bangladesh, the USA, Lebanon, Turkey, Yemen, Egypt, Vietnam and Jordan have submitted applications for obtaining Moldovan citizenship in exchange for investment. Currently, under consideration are 25 applications for obtaining citizenship by foreign citizens and their family members. The program of Moldovan citizenship for money, which was initiated by the Democrats, provides that a foreigner can obtain Moldovan citizenship if he transfers at least € 100 thousand to the country's Long-Term Development Fund or at least € 250 thousand to a strategically important business area. The authorities expected to raise € 1.3 billion in the first five years of the program.