THE WORLD’S RESIDENCY AND CITIZENSHIP PROGRAMMES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

RYAN DARMANIN

Before his debut in the industry, Mr Ryan Darmanin spent seven years at a leading international banking institution, focusing on customer experience excellence and employee engagement. Prior to that, he worked in the hospitality industry for various international hotel chains. Ryan is an alumnus of the University of Wales, Cardiff, were he acquired his MBA. He holds diplomas in real estate and hospitality and is a member of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners.

Ryan has helped well over 500 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) seeking alternative residence and citizenship over the past four years. He was also an integral part of the team that successfully contributed towards the success of the MIIP. Ryan currently occupies the position of Managing Director for the Malta offices for one of the leading RCBI firms.

Prior to this, Ryan held a senior management role at another RCBI firm, in which he was also a member of the board of directors. He specialised in the real estate arm of the business, where he was responsible for a team, that assisted clients with the acquisition of real estate, property management, and other ancillary services; all of which are important components in residence and citizenship planning.

YAKOF AGIUS

Mr Yakof Agius has over fifteen years’ experience in different industries and disciplines, including financial services, banking, call centre operations, IT services and residency and citizenship-by-investment (RCBI). Yakof’s broad experience is supported by an academic portfolio which is just as broad, including specialist qualifications in due diligence, AML and CFT, civil law and information technology. He also holds a practitioner’s licence in neuroscience-based behavioural assessment and is currently reading for an MSc in leadership and organisational behaviour with Dublin City University.

Formerly a Managing Partner and Head of HR for one of the leading RCBI firms, Yakof was a key contributor in establishing, leading and managing the firm’s Malta offices which were crucial for both the firm’s impressive growth, the development of the Malta Individual Investor Programme (MIIP) and the RCBI industry in Malta. Yakof moved on to occupy the role of Chief Officer for Risk and Compliance for the Government agency that manages the MIIP, where he was responsible for the design and management of the due diligence process.

Yakof’s contribution, helped the MIIP’s due diligence process to be recognised as the industry’s ‘gold standard’. During his tenure at the agency, Yakof also co-created the first RCBI risk matrix, which uses an evidence-based approach. The risk matrix was developed as a framework that enables the standardisation of due diligence across the RCBI industry.