On 3 November 2019, newspapers reported that under Nicos Anastasiades' government, the Malaysian conman and fugitive, Jho Low, had been granted Cypriot citizenship. It was reported that Jho Low obtained the passport under the Cypriot citizenship investment scheme just two days after investing in some property in Cyprus. At the time, there was no warrant against Jho Low for the 1MDB scandal, however he was already under investigation and investigators were closing in on him for his alleged money-laundering activities. He was granted a passport despite the fact that a background check on him raised several red flags because of his status as a politically exposed person as well as his alleged fraud and regulatory breaches. It was also revealed that while the golden passport scheme normally requires applicants to live in the country for at least seven years, as well as buy property, the decision to override this requirement was taken by the country’s cabinet. The revelation concerning Jho Low's Cypriot citizenship came after the Cypriot citizenship investment scheme came under scrutiny, after it was revealed that the Cyprus government, under the presidency of Nicos Anastasiades, had granted citizenship to Cambodian elites. As Reuters reported, eight relatives or associates of Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen, had been granted Cypriot passports.