By Daiva Repečkaitė and Julian Bonnici
The European Court of Justice has condemned Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme. Still, Malta’s government and Prime Minister Robert Abela have staunchly defended the scheme, citing a €1.4 billion revenue supposedly created to benefit Maltese people.
But is that correct? An analysis of published data shows that the actual investment in people is far smaller.
The claim
In a Facebook post, the Prime Minister claimed the scheme generated “almost a billion and a half euros that we have invested in people”, helping them “in their hour of need” during moments like the pandemic.
A government press release cited the €1.4 billion figure, listing several projects:
- More than €60 million to social housing projects, “providing hundreds of social housing apartments”.
- An €8.5 million investment in St Michael Hospice, a state-of-the-art palliative care project.
- €5 million invested in the Puttinu Cares apartments in London.
- A €10 million investment in health centres,
- “Millions” in equipment at St Vincent De Paul and the cardiology department at Mater Dei Hospital.
- €5 million invested in athletes participating in the Games of the Small States of Europe
- Over €13 million allocated to the construction of a car racing track.
- A €9 million agreement with the Malta Football Association for a new technical centre
The facts
The revenues generated from the programme are channelled into two key streams:
1. The National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) – 70%
The NDSF runs a direct investment portfolio for local economic, cultural or social strategic investments.
Such investments ranged from purchasing Lombard Bank shares to buying art at international auctions to the social projects mentioned above.
It also includes a discretionary portfolio, a BOV-managed fund targeting global investments, like bonds and securities.
2. The Consolidated Fund – 30%
The main government bank account, where all public revenues are deposited and expenditures are made, receives around 30% of the money generated.
It should be noted that the statement says that the percentage sent to the Consolidated Fund increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, no official figure could be found for the amount spent from the citizenship scheme revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the latest financial statements, the NDSF received €619 million in revenues between its inception and 2022.
€130 million, or about one-fifth, was allocated to projects of social importance.
Prime Minister Robert Abela provided a breakdown of the distribution of the NDSF’s social projects in July 2024, following a parliamentary question from MP Mark Anthony Sammut.
The government did not respond to requests to provide the latest official figures.
The data confirms that as of July 2024, less than 10% of the reported €1.4 billion generated from the scheme went into social projects, and that just €41,847,629, or one-third of the amount promised, had been paid out.
Notably, just under €7.7 million of the total €60 million promised to social housing had been used by July 2024 – some 13% of the amount pledged.
In 2019, the NDSF and the Housing Authority pledged to develop 550 housing units. The latest financial statements suggest that works were at the permitting stage, awaiting tenders.
Since then, we have found seven tenders for the construction of housing blocks issued by the Housing Authority and published on the government’s public procurement website. The Ministry for Social and Affordable Housing did not reply to our request for an update.
The data provided by Prime Minister Abela in July 2024 shows some schemes for which no disbursements have been provided. These include:
- The New Hope scheme, which offers a loan for individuals who face difficulties in taking up life insurance.
- Richmond Foundation: KIDS for Development Programme
- CT Scan/MRI St Vincent De Paul Hospital
- SportMalta ‐ Malta Olympic Committee High Performance Strategy
The funds committed to Puttinu Cares were fully disbursed. However, this figure over the years pales before regular donations from the general public at a single charity event, reportedly over €3 million in 2024 and 2025 each.
Successful applicants of the golden passport scheme also donate to charitable causes, which extend to football clubs, band clubs, university departments, the Malta Film Commission, and many others, one of which is managed by citizenship scheme agents themselves.
According to a 2023 report by the regulator, since the beginning of the programme €6,112,648 were received across 1,061 donations.
The claim also included €339 million from property purchases and €158 million from property rentals, which is also not direct investment in people.
Participation in the property market is not direct investment in people, as a 2023 KPMG report showed that growth in the construction and real estate sector did not trickle down to workers’ income.
The government’s spokesperson did not respond to our questions and requests for a breakdown of more updated figures.
The verdict: Misleading – but not entirely false
The claim about the citizenship-by-investment scheme’s contribution to society’s needs is overestimated, and the claim that €1.4 billion was invested “in the people” is misleading.
From the €1.4 billion figure, over 90% of the funds generated do not go directly to social projects – instead, they are either placed in financial instruments, which generate interest, debt securities and other assets – or not utilised at all
Only €131 million – less than a tenth of the €1.4 billion figure – has been committed to social projects, and only a third has been disbursed.
So while the scheme certainly generated €1.4 billion in revenue, it is inaccurate to say that the billion figure is ‘directly’ invested in the people.
This project is supported by the European Media and Information Fund. The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the authors and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.
