Casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment (MRE) is under fire in Cyprus after some top executives were granted local citizenship under a controversial program.

In August, an investigation by broadcaster Al Jazeera revealed that 18 executives of Melco Investment Holdings had filed a collective application for citizenship in July 2019 under the Cyprus Investment Programme (CIP).

The CIP allowed wealthy foreigners to obtain Cypriot citizenship by plowing at least €2.5m into local development projects. Earlier this month, following an Al Jazeera broadcast on the topic, the Cypriot government announced that it would end the CIP effective November 1.

MRE currently operates three satellite casinos and a ‘temporary’ larger casino in Limassol under its Cyprus Casinos offshoot. The company continues to develop the €550m City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated resort, which was originally scheduled to open in late-2021 but pandemic-related construction delays are expected to push this start into 2022.