Cyprus’s Administrative Court has annulled the revocation of citizenship granted to Indian businessman Anubhav Aggarwal under the country’s now-defunct citizenship by investment (CBI) program.
Aggarwal obtained his Cypriot passport in 2016. He has not been convicted of any criminal offense in connection with the financial fraud allegations behind the revocation.
Judge Ariadne Zervou found the process procedurally flawed on several grounds. The most damaging: No one at any level of government considered that stripping Aggarwal’s citizenship would leave him stateless.
His wife and son lost their Cypriot citizenships in the same decision and appear to benefit from the annulment. Simos Angelides of Andreas S. Angelides LLC represented the family.
What the Court Found
The investigative committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Myron Nicolatos examined Aggarwal’s case during its broad review of the CBI program. It never recommended revocation; the committee recommended only that the possibility be examined.
The Council of Ministers revoked his citizenship regardless, acting on the opinion of the Independent Committee on Citizenship Revocation. That body concluded Aggarwal had concealed material information from his naturalization application: an alleged connection to a financial fraud investigation in India and what the committee characterized as criminal proceedings underway at the time he applied.
The judge disagreed. No criminal case had been filed against Aggarwal before any court when he submitted his application.
Proceedings began in 2017, a year after he received his passport. The committee never examined this point, despite it being the sole factual ground for revocation.
His right to be heard was nominal. Aggarwal’s lawyers submitted a multi-page letter addressing his involvement in the matters alleged against him. Nobody evaluated it.
India does not permit dual citizenship. When Aggarwal became Cypriot, he ceased to be Indian. Revoking his Cypriot passport would leave him a citizen of nowhere.
He raised this in a December 22, 2021 letter through his lawyers, citing international treaties, EU guidelines, and Court of Justice of the EU case law. Zervou called it the most serious flaw in the process: Not a single authority, at any stage, weighed the statelessness question before voting to strip his nationality.
The court emphasized that it reviews legality only. It does not assess the underlying facts. Cypriot authorities must now re-examine Aggarwal’s case, weighing whether revocation is proportionate given that it would render him stateless.
ARK Imports and the NSEL Crisis
Why did the Nicolatos committee flag Aggarwal? According to Indian corporate filings, he held a 98% stake in ARK Imports Private Limited, a Ludhiana-based trading firm, and served as an executive from 2011 to 2014. ARK Imports owed Rs 719 crore (approximately US$76 million) as the second-largest defaulter in India’s 2013 National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) payment crisis.
The Nicolatos report stated Aggarwal “appeared” to have furnished false or misleading information on his citizenship application. In 2020, he was reportedly arrested in Abu Dhabi on an Interpol red notice tied to the NSEL case. He has not been convicted in connection with the matter.
His own lawyers conceded before the revocation committee that Aggarwal did not disclose his ties to ARK on his naturalization application. They argued the omission carried no intent to deceive. Zervou did not reach the substance of that argument; her ruling turned on the committee’s failure to investigate it at all.
The Cleanup Hits the Courts
The ruling lands in the middle of a difficult stretch for Cyprus’s efforts to hold the CBI program’s beneficiaries accountable. In February, a Nicosia criminal court acquitted former parliament president Demetris Syllouris and ex-MP Christakis Giovanis after prosecutors failed to call key witnesses. The attorney general has signaled an appeal.
Former transport minister Marios Demetriades and seven others still face 59 charges, including corruption and money laundering. All have pleaded not guilty.
A separate question looms over every pending revocation case. In January 2026, the Administrative Court of Appeal asked the Supreme Constitutional Court to decide whether citizenship revocation decisions can be challenged in court at all, or whether they are sovereign acts beyond judicial review. If the court sides with the government, cases like Aggarwal’s would have no venue.
Since abolishing the CBI program in November 2020, Cyprus has revoked citizenship from 360 individuals: 101 investors and 259 family members.
Of the 6,779 citizenships granted between 2007 and 2020, the Nicolatos inquiry found 53% had been issued unlawfully. In March 2026, the European Commission closed its infringement proceedings against Cyprus.
