Cyprus Papers: secret migration of China’s rich, led by Asia’s richest woman, revealed in leaked documents
- Yang Huiyan, with an estimated wealth of US$20 billion, is among more than 500 Chinese people said by Al Jazeera to have received a Cypriot ‘golden passport’ in recent years
- Chinese citizens may apply for permanent residency or citizenship in foreign countries, but obtaining citizenship abroad generally means losing Chinese citizenship
More than 500 Chinese people obtained European Union citizenship in the island nation of Cyprus between 2017 and 2019, including Asia’s richest woman, according to leaked documents obtained by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit.
The documents, which are said to contain information on 2,500 immigrants to Cyprus during that time frame, appear to shed light on the secretive migration plans of China’s elite.
Al Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned broadcaster, did not disclose the full list of immigrants who were granted citizenship in Cyprus under the so-called golden passports programme, as the disclosure focuses on people with track records that could violate rules for obtaining European Union citizenship. Among the more than 500 approved Chinese applicants, the broadcaster provided eight names, led by Yang Huiyan, a principal owner of Chinese property developer Country Garden.
Yang was named by Forbes as the sixth-richest woman in the world in 2020 with a fortune of US$20.3 billion. Country Garden did not reply to multiple requests for comment.
