Among others, many wealthy Chinese and Arabs have bought Cypriot passports in an attempt to escape the restrictive regimes of their home countries, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit has found.
The Cyprus Papers obtained by Al Jazeera reveal more than 500 Chinese nationals and 350 Arabs who were approved for Cypriot citizenship after investing at least $2.5m in the European Union member state.
The Cyprus government has held a news conference in which it refuted the findings of the investigation, calling it "propaganda".
Al Jazeera's Deborah Davies reports.
