Suzan and Cigdem Sabanci

Two members of Turkey's billionaire Sabanci family — sisters Cigdem Sabanci Bilen and Suzan Sabanci Dincer — bought Maltese citizenship in 2018 for themselves and their families.

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Forbes estimates that the fortune of the Sabanci family is in the range of billions, deriving from their majority ownership of Sabanci Holding, one of Turkey's largest business conglomerates. Two members of the family – sisters Cigdem Sabanci Bilen and Suzan Sabanci Dincer – began the process of applying to buy Maltese passports for themselves and their respective families in 2016.

Suzan Sabanci Dincer is the Chairman and Executive Board Member of Akbank, one of Turkey's largest banks, which also has a registered branch in Malta. Her husband, Haluk Dincer, is also part of the Executive Board of Sabanci Holdings.

‘Genuine links’ to Malta include a shabby apartment and a donation

To meet the residency requirement, the sisters rented an apartment in Portomaso, St Julians, for €3,000 per month. Suzan Sabanci Dincer leased an apartment in Sliema for the same amount, signing an agreement in January 2016 and terminating it in October 2017. When the Passport Papers photographer visited the location in March 2021, wires dangled across the facade of the building and the paint was peeling off the concrete balconies.

Paint peels off the concrete facade of this aging block in Sliema where Suzan Sabanci Dincer leased an apartment to qualify for citizenship. The address gives the appearance that the applicant resides there. This is never the case.

Cigdem Sabanci Bilen and Suzan Sabanci Dincer visited Malta in September 2016, landing at 11am and departing three and a half hours later. To tick a “genuine links to Malta” box, Suzan Sabanci Dincer, one of the two main applicants donated €10,000 to the Malta Community Chest Fund.

Scoring points for donations

A scoring system awards points to applications according to a checklist that includes making donations to the Malta Community Chest Fund and other charities. According to Jonathan Cardona, CEO of the state agency that handles citizenship, the agency developed the tool in collaboration with Henley & Partners.

Asked to comment on the receipt of donations, a spokesperson for the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation (MCCFF) said it “occasionally receives information from Henley and Partners that one of their clients would like to make a donation” and that “the reason for such a donation is not always specified by Henley & Partners.” The MCCFF said that it was not aware of or informed of any scoring mechanisms. Asked whether Henley & Partners transfers donations on behalf of applicants or whether applicants make their donations directly, the MCCFF declined to respond.

All family members named in Suzan Sabanci Dincer's and Cigdem Sabanci Bilen's applications were granted Maltese passports in 2018.

Cigdem Sabanci Bilen, Suzan Sabanci Dincer, Sabanci Holdings, and Akbank did not respond to requests for comment.