A Syrian man who is under US sanctions for assisting the Syrian government received residency status in Hungary under a visa bond programme launched by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, two Hungarian websites reported. Reuters could not independently verify the websites' report, which did not say when the Syrian man was given the visa. Direkt36 said it received a list of names from an unnamed source which included individuals from several countries, not just Syria, who took part in the visa programme. Another source familiar with the administrative process confirmed the man and his relatives received residency permits through the programme, Direkt36 said. It highlighted a second Syrian man who Italian authorities suspect took part in an international money-laundering scheme.

Source: dna March 28, 2018 17:03 UTC