UPDATED WITH LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN DECEMBER 2019
Chetcuti Cauchi welcome with open arms the conclusions of the Office of the Regulator of the Individual Investor Programme, issued on the 14th November 2019.
The Regulator concluded the following:
- The Agency never received any clients from any Maltese Citizenship Agents with a criminal record, certainly not from Chetcuti Cauchi.
It is therefore an outrageous allegation of the French TV programme that persons with a criminal background were ever denied citizenship in the first place given they are not even allowed to apply, let alone be granted citizenship; - There was no evidence that the agent had attempted “to find a way to get around the selection criteria”;
- There was no evidence that influence has every been exercised on any government minister to give some advantage to a client;
- No issues were identified during the vetting exercise”.
Indeed, the Report emphasises that a thorough analysis:
"has not uncovered any red flags, which support, in all or in part, the purported allegations”.
The standalone and categorical conclusion of the Report reads as follows:
“there are no indications that CCA has ever engaged in any of the activities allegedly mentioned in the recorded programme”.
This Report goes a long way to demonstrate not only the correctness of the firm’s work in this area, but also the strictness, professionalism and impartiality with which the MIIP Agency has dealt with our firm.
The firm welcomes the report by ORiip as it confirms what we stated following the allegations put forward by the French TV station. We always acted professionally, ethically and with utmost diligence, and in accordance with the law.
"No Evidence of Collusion," says Regulator
12th November 2019
"The Office of the Regulator for the Individual Investor Programme (ORiip) has concluded, following a six-week review of all 164 Malta IIP applications submitted by the firm, that Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates is innocent of all allegations brought against it by a French TV channel in September."
"In what can only be characterized as a complete and unequivocal vindication for the law firm, ORiip stated in its report on the matter that they had “not uncovered any red flags which support, in all or in part, the purported allegations. No records were found of applicants having a criminal record or of applications being presented for the Minister’s consideration more than once. There was no indication of collusion between the Agent and the responsible Minister (or with the Agency) or that the former, at any point since the start of the Programme, had ever received preferential treatment.” Investment Migration Insider, 12th November 2019
Law firm welcomes ‘no collusion’ report by IIP regulator
15th November 2019
"Following a thorough investigation, the Regulator’s report showed “in crystal clear terms that allegations made on the TV programme were false”, the firm said in a statement. Having known the truth from the start, as well as the deceptiveness of the so-called ‘investigative’ programme, the Regulator’s conclusions did not come as a surprise. "
Law Firm Vindicated as Raw Footage Reveals Grossly Slanderous Editing
19th January 2020
On the contrary, the unedited footage reveals over an hour of meeting time of a senior partner of the firm honourably representing the Maltese jurisdiction, the Maltese legal system and the firm’s on-boarding procedures as transparent, compliant and very selective when it comes to the reputation of the investors it seeks to attract. Chetcuti Cauchi Official Press Release, 19th January 2020
Chetcuti Cauchi obtains exonerating footage
19th January 2020
The programme was intended to portray Malta and the Maltese people as corrupt, the firm said. Having examined the raw footage with various independent experts, it is clear that the French TV producers are guilty of a crude cut-and-paste to portray a lawyer in bad light. The Malta Independent, 19th January 2020
UPDATED WITH LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN DECEMBER 2019
Chetcuti Cauchi welcome with open arms the conclusions of the Office of the Regulator of the Individual Investor Programme, issued on the 14th November 2019.
The Regulator concluded the following:
- The Agency never received any clients from any Maltese Citizenship Agents with a criminal record, certainly not from Chetcuti Cauchi.
It is therefore an outrageous allegation of the French TV programme that persons with a criminal background were ever denied citizenship in the first place given they are not even allowed to apply, let alone be granted citizenship; - There was no evidence that the agent had attempted “to find a way to get around the selection criteria”;
- There was no evidence that influence has every been exercised on any government minister to give some advantage to a client;
- No issues were identified during the vetting exercise”.
Indeed, the Report emphasises that a thorough analysis:
"has not uncovered any red flags, which support, in all or in part, the purported allegations”.
The standalone and categorical conclusion of the Report reads as follows:
“there are no indications that CCA has ever engaged in any of the activities allegedly mentioned in the recorded programme”.
This Report goes a long way to demonstrate not only the correctness of the firm’s work in this area, but also the strictness, professionalism and impartiality with which the MIIP Agency has dealt with our firm.
The firm welcomes the report by ORiip as it confirms what we stated following the allegations put forward by the French TV station. We always acted professionally, ethically and with utmost diligence, and in accordance with the law.
"No Evidence of Collusion," says Regulator
12th November 2019
"The Office of the Regulator for the Individual Investor Programme (ORiip) has concluded, following a six-week review of all 164 Malta IIP applications submitted by the firm, that Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates is innocent of all allegations brought against it by a French TV channel in September."
"In what can only be characterized as a complete and unequivocal vindication for the law firm, ORiip stated in its report on the matter that they had “not uncovered any red flags which support, in all or in part, the purported allegations. No records were found of applicants having a criminal record or of applications being presented for the Minister’s consideration more than once. There was no indication of collusion between the Agent and the responsible Minister (or with the Agency) or that the former, at any point since the start of the Programme, had ever received preferential treatment.” Investment Migration Insider, 12th November 2019
Law firm welcomes ‘no collusion’ report by IIP regulator
15th November 2019
"Following a thorough investigation, the Regulator’s report showed “in crystal clear terms that allegations made on the TV programme were false”, the firm said in a statement. Having known the truth from the start, as well as the deceptiveness of the so-called ‘investigative’ programme, the Regulator’s conclusions did not come as a surprise. "
Law Firm Vindicated as Raw Footage Reveals Grossly Slanderous Editing
19th January 2020
On the contrary, the unedited footage reveals over an hour of meeting time of a senior partner of the firm honourably representing the Maltese jurisdiction, the Maltese legal system and the firm’s on-boarding procedures as transparent, compliant and very selective when it comes to the reputation of the investors it seeks to attract. Chetcuti Cauchi Official Press Release, 19th January 2020
Chetcuti Cauchi obtains exonerating footage
19th January 2020
The programme was intended to portray Malta and the Maltese people as corrupt, the firm said. Having examined the raw footage with various independent experts, it is clear that the French TV producers are guilty of a crude cut-and-paste to portray a lawyer in bad light. The Malta Independent, 19th January 2020