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Christian Kälin

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Christian Kälin
Kalin in 2015
Born
Christian H. Kälin

1971 (age 52–53)
NationalitySwiss
EducationUniversity of Zurich (2016, PhD)
Occupation(s)Lawyer, author, businessman
TitleChairman, Henley & Partners
Websitechriskalin.com

Christian H. Kälin (born 1971) is a Swiss lawyer, author and the chairman of Henley & Partners, a firm that specializes in passport sale schemes.[1][2] The firm is an architect of citizenship-by-investment programs that allow wealthy individuals to buy passports.[3][4] Atossa Araxia Abrahamian credits him with making citizenship by investment "a legitimate, largely above-board industry."[5]

Early life and education

Kälin was born in 1971 in Zurich. In his teenage years, he began collecting immigration and citizenship laws from different countries, writing to embassies to request copies of their legislations and keeping the documents in a big binder. He told writer and journalist Atossa Araxia Abrahamian of this time in his life: "What always fascinated me was the inclusionary and exclusionary aspect of citizenship [...] I wanted to understand how different countries handled this."[6] Kälin studied in Paris, Auckland and Zurich and earned master's and PhD degrees in law from the University of Zurich.[5] His doctoral thesis was published under the title Ius Doni: The Acquisition of Citizenship by Investment. In the thesis, he wrote in support of citizenship by investment, arguing that it "creates social and economic development opportunities for States."[7] He also coined the term ius doni, referring to people who gain citizenship through investment.[8]

Career

Kälin is the chairman of Henley & Partners.[9]

He pioneered the concept of "citizenship-by-investment", whereby people can acquire citizenship in return for investing in a country of which they are not a national.[10] In 2006,[11] Kälin published the first edition of the Switzerland Business & Investment Handbook, a comprehensive guide to doing business in Switzerland that is said to be found in every Swiss embassy around the world.[12] In the same year, he started the Henley Passport Index, which ranks countries according to the travel freedom their citizens enjoy due to their passport.[13]

Kälin and Henley & Partners have worked with the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Australia, Cyprus, Greece, Grenada, Malta, Montenegro, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Thailand.[14] Kälin said that "citizenship is inherently unjust".[14]

Kälin was the lead consultant in the creation and implementation of the Citizenship-by-Investment program of Antigua and Barbuda in 2013. In 2014, Kälin was appointed chairman of Henley & Partners following many years in different senior roles at the firm.[10]

In collaboration with Dimitry Kochenov, Kälin authors The Quality of Nationality Index (QNI), an annual[15] report published since 2015. The index ranks the quality of nationalities based on factors such as GDP, Human Development Index and freedom to travel and settle abroad.[16]

Kälin is a member of the Governing Board of the Investment Migration Council in Geneva.[17] He is also the founder and chairman of the Switzerland-based Andan Foundation, which focuses on supporting displaced people.[12][18]

St. Kitts and Nevis

In 2006, Kälin restructured St. Kitts and Nevis's citizenship-by-investment program, and obtained exclusive rights for Henley to market St. Kitts & Nevis worldwide.[3][10] The company gave the country's government a $20,000 fee for every successful applicant for its passport program.[3] Applicants for passports could either invest in real state on the islands or donate to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation, which was intended to invest on behalf of the St. Kitts and Nevis population.[3] The contract between Henley and Partners and St. Kitts and Nevis ended in 2013.[3]

In 2014, the US and Canada flagged that St. Kitts and Nevis was allowing financial criminals and individuals evading sanctions to obtain passports through the Henley and Partners scheme.[3] Canada ended its visa-free agreement with St. Kitts and Nevis.[3]

Observers have had persistent concerns about the lack of transparency about SIDF, which was set up by Henley and Partners. The IMF said in 2014 that the SIDF needs to make "substantial improvement in its reporting to enhance the transparency of its operations."[3] The U.S. State Department said in 2017 that there was a "lack of financial oversight" of the SIDF.[3] Transparency International said it was unclear whether the SIDF used its money to benefit the St. Kitts and Nevis population.[3]

It was later revealed that the SIDF's investments had failed. SIDF invested its money into a failed resort business and a company owned by a Henley associate with ties to chairman Christian Kälin.[3] In 2017, the St Kitts and Nevis government stopped allowing passport applicants to pay into the SIDF.[3]

Personal life

According to Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, Kälin owns at least five passports personally.[6]: 72  When asked by The Economist in 2017, Kälin declined to reveal how many passports he owns.[19]

Publications

  • — (3 February 2006). Switzerland Business & Investment Handbook: Economy, Law, Taxation, Real Estate, Residence, Facts & Figures, Key Addresses (1st ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0470018019. LCCN 2006296425. OCLC 254775904. OL 10278233M.[20][11]
  • Muller, Wouter H.; —; Goldsworth, John G., eds. (5 June 2007). Anti-Money Laundering: International Law and Practice (1st ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0470033197. LCCN 2007004228. OCLC 716943342. OL 7594934M – via Internet Archive.
  • —; Taylor, Andrew J. (12 January 2015). International Real Estate Handbook (Revised ed.). Ideos Verlag AG. ISBN 978-0992781835. LCCN 2004017102. OCLC 945764076. OL 32963380M.
  • — (26 January 2016). Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook (5th ed.). Ideos Verlag AG. ISBN 978-0992781859. LCCN 2016370890. OCLC 953710991. OL 28370527M.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  • Kälin – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index[20]
  • Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2017–2018: The Definitive Comparison of the Leading Investment Migration Programs (Christian H. Kälin) for Henley & Partners[21]
  • Ius Doni: The Acquisition of Citizenship by Investment by Christian H. Kälin[22]
  • 'Investment Migration: The New Competitive Edge' (Christian H. Kälin) in The International Family Offices Journal (December 2017)[23]
  • 'New Citizenship Options Will Open Up' (Christian H. Kälin) in the 2017 Knight Frank Wealth Report[24]
  • 'Only as Strong as Their Weakest Link' (Christian H. Kälin) in the 2018 Knight Frank Wealth Report[25]
  • 'Swiss Companies in International Tax Planning' (Christian H. Kälin) in Trust and Trustees, volume 11, issue 10 (October 2005)
  • A Guide to Investment Migration for Governments and Global Citizens (Christian H. Kälin) for Henley & Partners, in partnership with The Economist Group (April 2018)[26]
  • 'Malta's Due Diligence Will Become the Global Standard' (Christian H. Kälin) for Investment Migration Insider (May 2018)[27]
  • 'Consolidation Will Drive the Industry Forward' (Christian H. Kälin) for the 2018/2019 Investment Migration Yearbook[28]
  • Ius Doni in International Law and EU Law by Christian H. Kälin[29]
  • 'How Dual Citizenship Can Define Your Future' (Christian H. Kälin) in IFC(2016)[30]
  • 'Investment Migration Yearbook 2021/2022' (Christian H. Kälin) in Investment Migration Council[31]

References

  1. ^ "This Swiss Lawyer Is Helping Governments Get Rich Off Selling Passports". bloomberg.com. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Revealed: Cambridge Analytica and the Passport King - The Spectator". spectator.co.uk. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l OCCRP. "Conflicts Of Interest And Controversial Clients: Henley & Partners' Caribbean Business". OCCRP. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Revealed: residency loophole in Malta's cash-for-passports scheme". The Guardian. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia (29 October 2015). "Passport Bubble". The New Republic. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b Atossa Araxia Abraham (2015). The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen. ISBN 978-0990976363.
  7. ^ Ius Doni - the acquisition of citizenship by investment. OCLC 958587778.
  8. ^ Barrett, Jonathan M. (2019). "Duty Free Citizenship: The Case of Peter Thiel". SSRN 3494881.
  9. ^ "My email to Christian Kalin of Henley & Partners right now - Daphne Caruana Galizia's Notebook - Running Commentary". daphnecaruanagalizia.com. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  10. ^ a b c "The Passport King". 11 March 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  11. ^ a b Hoyt L. Barber (31 July 2011). Freedom Without Borders: How to Invest, Expatriate, and Retire Overseas for Personal and Financial Success. ABC-CLIO. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-0-313-39391-4.
  12. ^ a b Ruschmann, Dirk; Schütz, Dirk (22 January 2021). "Dieser Anwalt vermittelt Pässe für 150'000 Dollar". Bilanz. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  13. ^ Wilson, Antonia (14 January 2019). "UK passport drops to sixth in global power index". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  14. ^ a b "[WATCH] 'Citizenship is inherently unjust' says passport king Christian Kalin". maltatoday.com.mt. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. ^ LaMagna, Maria. "This is the most 'valuable' country in the world to be a citizen (and it's not the U.S.)". MarketWatch. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. ^ Babad, Michael (6 June 2016). "Canadian nationality ranked better than most but behind many". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Governing Board". Investment Migration Council. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  18. ^ "About The Founder". Andan Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ Valencia, Matthew (2 October 2017). "Citizens of anywhere". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Dr. Christian H. Kälin - Henley & Partners". www.henleyglobal.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  21. ^ Partners, Henley &, ed. (31 October 2017). Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2017-2018: The Definitive Comparison of the Leading Investment Migration Programs. Ideos Verlag AG. ISBN 978-0993586682.
  22. ^ Kälin, Christian H. (19 June 2018). Ius Doni : the acquisition of citizenship by investment. Ideos Publications Limited. ISBN 9780993586637 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ "The International Family Offices Journal". www.globelawandbusiness.com.
  24. ^ "The Wealth Report". www.knightfrank.com.
  25. ^ "The Wealth Report 2018 - Download". www.knightfrank.com.
  26. ^ "Henley & Partners". Henley & Partners.
  27. ^ ""Malta's Due Diligence Will Become the Global Standard" - Interview with Chris Kälin, Part 2 - Investment Migration Insider". 14 May 2018.
  28. ^ "Investment Migration (IM) Yearbook 2019/2020".
  29. ^ Kälin, Christian H. (27 March 2019). Ius Doni in International Law and EU Law. Brill/Nijhoff. ISBN 9789004357525 – via Brill.
  30. ^ "The International Financial Center Review".
  31. ^ "Investment Migration Council".
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