Malta has revoked the citizenship of Russian national Semen Kuksov, who was convicted in the United Kingdom for laundering millions of pounds for international criminal networks. The decision marks one of the most high-profile cases in the country’s ongoing efforts to clean up the legacy of its controversial “citizenship-by-investment” program, widely criticized as a gateway for illicit wealth to infiltrate the European Union.

Kuksov, aged 25, was sentenced in February 2024 to more than five years in prison by a UK court after admitting to laundering over £12 million (approximately $15 million) in criminal proceeds. According to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Kuksov played a key role in operating what investigators described as a “professional banking service for criminals across the world.”

The National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that Kuksov managed a network of couriers who collected illicit funds and transferred them abroad. The scheme formed part of a massive international money-laundering enterprise-Operation Destabilise-that moved billions in cash and cryptocurrency for criminal groups ranging from Russian cybercrime syndicates to drug traffickers in Europe.

Before his arrest in September 2023, Kuksov had already secured Maltese citizenship in 2022, taking advantage of the island nation’s so-called “golden passport” program. The scheme allowed wealthy foreigners to acquire Maltese-and therefore European Union-citizenship through hefty investments and donations to the state.

For years, the program generated lucrative revenue for Malta but also drew heavy criticism from Brussels, transparency advocates, and investigative journalists. It was denounced as a mechanism that enabled individuals with questionable backgrounds to gain visa-free access to the EU, often without establishing any genuine ties to the country.

Kuksov’s case became a........

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