Labour calls for withdrawal of suspect passports

THE legislation to abolish the passport for investment scheme should include powers to revoke Irish passports granted to convicted criminals, the Labour Party said yesterday.

The party’s spokesperson on justice, Joe Costello, has called on Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to withdraw passports obtained in the past under the scheme by people who have since become international fugitives or are involved in serious criminal offences abroad.

Mr Costello said the anomaly was highlighted by this week’s announcement by Czech authorities that they will seek the extradition from the Bahamas of Victor Kozeny.

The Czech national is a fugitive who is wanted on charges of defrauding thousands of small investors of around e240 million in the Czech Republic in the early 1990s.

He is also wanted in the United States on charges of embezzlement.

Kozeny is the holder of an Irish passport granted under the passports for investment scheme.

“He is one of a small number of people who received Irish passports under the investment scheme who are now wanted for serious criminal offences and who may be using Irish passports to avoid arrest,” said Mr Costello.

“Another case involves British-born Sheridan Cox, who allegedly conned thousands of people out of their life savings as part of a stock market fraud in Taiwan.

“The passports may well have been granted in good faith by the Irish authorities at the time, but it surely must be a matter of considerable concern that international fugitives are travelling the world on Irish passports, essentially granted in return for financial payments,” he said.

At present, there is no provision in Irish law for withdrawing passports granted under the scheme.

Mr Costello called on the minister to include such powers when introducing the promised legislation to put an end to the highly controversial passports for investment scheme.