National Assembly Committee for Deputy Affairs’ Head Tran Van Tuy

Mr. Tuy told VietNamNet that he heard the news from a foreign newspaper that a member of the Vietnamese National Assembly was named in the list of politicians buying a European passport. However, it is necessary to carefully verify the information as it was reported by a foreign source, he said.

Mr. Tuy has assigned the Department of Deputy Affairs to check the information. After the information is carefully verified, the NA Committee for Deputy Affairs will report the case to the NA Standing Committee and the NA will release official information about this case.

Al Jazeera news agency (Qatar's state news agency) recently released a confidential document showing that the passport program of the Republic of Cyprus allowed politicians to "buy" its passport.

According to Al Jazeera, the Cyprus passport program allows those who have invested at least 2.15 million euros (about $2.5 million) to own its passport. That means the individual who owns the passport becomes an EU citizen and can travel and work freely in 27 EU member countries and can enter 174 countries without a visa.

Previously, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong was not recognized as a member of the 14th National Assembly (although she was elected) because she has two nationalities - Vietnam and Malta - without an honest declaration.

In the latest news, NA deputy Pham Phu Quoc of HCM City told Tuoi Tre newspaper that he has had Cypriot nationality from mid-2018, sponsored by his family, not from “buying” the passport as information released by Al Jazeera stated.

Mr. Tuy told VietNamNet on August 26 that he found out about the information through the media and social networks.

Mr. Tuy said he and the NA Committee for Deputy Affairs had not received any reports about the case of deputy Quoc and he had assigned the Department of Deputy Affairs to verify the information.

Thu Hang