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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cyprus retracted the passports of 4 Russian oligarchs and 17 dependents, a <a href="https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/four-sanctioned-russian-oligarchs-and-17-dependents-lose-their-cyprus-passport/">local outlet reported</a>.</li><li>Last week, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urged Cyprus to end its "<keyword id="13267149" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="golden-passport" source="Orion">golden passport</keyword>" benefits.</li></ul><p>Cyprus has retracted a total of 21 "golden passports" linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs, In-Cyprus, a local <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> outlet owned by Phileleftheros Media, <a href="https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/four-sanctioned-russian-oligarchs-and-17-dependents-lose-their-cyprus-passport/">reported Wednesday</a>.</p><p>This would strip the dual citizenship of billionaire Russian businessmen Alexander Ponomarenko, Vadim Nikolaevich Moskovic, Mikhail Gutseriev, and Alexei Kuzmichev, as well as the passports of 17 dependents, the report says.</p><p>The Cyprus press office did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment. </p><p>The move comes nearly a week after a video conference held between the Cyprus parliament and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the call, Zelenskyy urged officials to close off the island's ports to Russian ships and end its dual-citizenship program, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-cyprus-zelenskiy/ukraines-zelenskiy-urges-cyprus-to-end-passport-scheme-for-russians-idUSKCN2LZ1UA">reported</a>. </p><p>Cyprus, a <a href="https://www.insider.com/limassol-cyprus-russian-oligarchs-history-photos-2022-3#one-of-the-biggest-signs-of-wealth-in-limassol-can-be-found-in-the-citys-marina-where-mega-yachts-line-the-docks-10">hotspot for wealthy Russian tourists and investors</a>, stopped accepting new "golden passport" applicants in 2020 after an undercover <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj18cya_gvw">investigation</a> led by Al Jazeera revealed corruption within its vetting process. </p><p>The program previously granted citizenship to foreigners who invested at least $2.2 million in the country. Between 2007 and 2020, this provided 2,886 Russian nationals with dual citizenship, per <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/cyprus-revoke-passports-four-sanctioned-russians-sources-2022-04-07/">Reuters</a>.</p><div type="image" title="A woman walks past a Russian supermarket in the Cypriot port city of Limassol, Cyprus." height="932" width="1242" msid="90829070" hostid="261"></div><p>Russian investment in the country reached over $100 million in 2020, making it Cyprus' top source of foreign direct investment, according to data published by the <a href="https://www.centralbank.cy/images/media/pdf/FDI%20report%202020.pdf">Central Bank of Cyprus</a>. </p><p>Golden passport programs across Europe have come under heightened scrutiny following <keyword id="11894337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s invasion of <keyword id="11985141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>, as critics say they provide a financial safe haven for sanctioned individuals and their families. </p><p>In Turkey, wealthy Russians are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oligarchs-buy-apartments-turkey-citizenship-golden-passport-wsj-2022-4">buying up to four apartment at a time to qualify for dual citizenship</a>, Gül Gül, CEO of Istanbul based real-estate company Golden Sign, told Insider. </p><p>Russian buyers accounted for 70% of her company's <keyword id="11893295" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="real-estate" source="Orion">real estate</keyword> sales in March, Gül said, adding that she views the recent investment in Turkey as a "positive contribution" to the local economy. </p><p>Meanwhile, the EU has asked all member countries offering citizenship or residence for investment schemes to end the programs and strip the citizenship of individuals linked to the Kremlin. </p><p>"European values are not for sale," Didier Reynders, the Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, <a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/status/1508389054542499844?s=20&amp;t=4Iy3nJqqAW8j4o4i0_z5Dw">said during a speech</a> in late March. "We consider that the sale of citizenship through 'golden passports' is illegal under EU law and poses serious risks to our security. It opens the door to corruption, money laundering and tax avoidance."</p>

Cyprus, a Mediterranean hotspot for rich Russians, has reportedly retracted 21 'golden passports' linked to sanctioned oligarchs

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turkish_Air_Force_(F-16C_Falcon).jpg">Wikipedia Commons</a></span></p><p class="caption">A Turkish F-16.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A formation of Turkish fighter jets violated Greek airspace a total of 20 times on Wednesday before being chased off by Greek aircraft, Kathimerini English <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/199572/article/ekathimerini/news/turkish-jets-violate-greek-air-space">reports</a>. </p><p>A total of six Turkish fighter jets flying in formation carried out repeated violations of Greek airspace, <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/">according to the newspaper</a>, which is one of the most respected in Greece. The reported violations took place in Greek airspace over the north, central, and southern Aegean Sea.</p><p>Citing Greek <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> officials, Kathimerini <a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/199572/article/ekathimerini/news/turkish-jets-violate-greek-air-space">reports</a>  that two of the Turkish jets were carrying armaments and that a tense close-quarters confrontation occurred between the neighboring countries' jets.</p><p>Airspace violations between Greece and Turkey are a common issue between the two countries, especially over the Aegean Sea. The island-filled stretch of water separating Turkey and Greece contains maritime boundaries that are a persistent source of disagreement between the two countries.</p><p>"The question of sovereignty over the Aegean in simplest terms is the difference between Greek territorial waters of six nautical miles and the 10-nautical-mile airspace Greece claims," Metin Gurcan <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/contents/articles/originals/2015/01/turkey-greece-cyprus-aegean-air-space-nato.html">writes</a> for Al-Monitor. "The conflict arises when Turkey recognizes the Greek national airspace over the Aegean as six miles and flies its planes within the 10-mile airspace claimed by Greece." </p><p>Although violations happen with frequency between the two countries, Turkey and Greece have seen a rapid increase in incidents since 2013. In the first month of 2014 alone, Turkish aircraft allegedly violated Greek airspace 1,017 times, Gurcan <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/contents/articles/originals/2015/01/turkey-greece-cyprus-aegean-air-space-nato.html">reports</a>. This was twice the number of total airspace violations between the two countries for the first half of 2013.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Google</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Airspace violations have actually become so routine between the two countries that Turkey now lists all incidents under the "<a href="http://www.tsk.tr/11_haberler_olaylar/11_9_gunluk_faaliyetler/gunluk_faaliyetler_2014.html">Daily Activities</a>" section of the chief of general staff website. </p><p>The incidents reflect the still-ongoing hostility between Greece and Turkey. Both countries are NATO member states, but are divided over the Cyprus conflict, with Turkey being the sole country to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent state and Greece advocating Cyrpus's control over the entire island. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/10/oil-gas-reserves-cyprus-greece-turkey">Oil and natural gas deposits</a> around Cyprus have also become a major <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-greece-turkey-20141121-story.html">point of contention</a> between the countries.</p><p>This distrust of Turkey is so deeply routed that it is one of the primary reasons that Athens <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-greeces-military-budget-is-so-high-2015-6">continues to devote</a> a larger share of its GDP to defense than almost any other NATO nation despite its ongoing budgetary issues. </p><p>The 2.4% of GDP that Greece is projected to spend on defense in 2015 is actually a <a href="http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/2015/01/31/greece-election-defense-cuts/22484505/">sharp decrease</a> from the country's previous spending habits. Throughout the 1980s, Greece's average defense budget was 6.2% of its GDP largely due to tensions with its Turkish neighbor.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ian-bremmer-vladimir-putin-most-powerful-man-world-2015-5">Why Putin is the most powerful man in the world </a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RhNTFkdTovrJg1rP-s9ZqAiCXm6cMBEh" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Turkish and Greek jets engaged in tense jockeying after Turkey violated Greek airspace

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Cyprus, a Mediterranean hotspot for rich Russians, has reportedly retracted 21 'golden passports' linked to sanctioned oligarchs

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Turkish and Greek jets engaged in tense jockeying after Turkey violated Greek airspace

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