VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government has revoked the citizenship of 24-year-old Russian national Semen Kuksov, who is serving a prison sentence in the United Kingdom for running what authorities called a “professional banking service for criminals worldwide.”
The decision was announced in the latest edition of the Government Gazette, confirming the removal of Kuksov’s citizenship, which he obtained in 2022 under Malta’s controversial cash-for-passports programme.
Kuksov’s name appeared on the 2022 list of new citizens alongside his father, Vladimir Kuksov, after both acquired Maltese passports through the state-run citizenship-by-investment scheme.
Semen Kuksov later became a target of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) under Operation Destabilise, an investigation that dismantled a global money-laundering network linked to Russian organised crime, ransomware operations, and drug trafficking.
The NCA said Kuksov admitted to running an underground cryptocurrency exchange that moved millions of euros for criminal groups. In just 74 days, he and an associate laundered more than €14 million using cash “tokens” to conceal transactions.
Kuksov was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison earlier this year. His father has not been implicated and retains his Maltese citizenship, publicly distancing himself from his son’s activities.
– Photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
