The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and MİT are monitoring the acquisition of real estate in the TRNC by foreigners

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) are monitoring the acquisition of real estate in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by foreigners. This mainly involves citizens from the United Kingdom, Israel, and Iran.

According to the Cyprus Post, on the eve, the budget proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey for the 2024 fiscal year was accepted by the Planning and Budget Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

During the commission's sessions, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Hakan Fidan was asked about the purchase of tens of thousands of acres of land in the TRNC by intermediaries associated with Israel.

The minister emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and MİT have been monitoring real estate purchases in the TRNC by foreigners for a long time.

According to Hakan Fidan, since the year 2000, citizens of Israel have submitted a total of over 200 applications to purchase real estate. Israeli citizens rank 12th in this indicator among citizens of all other countries. In the last five years alone, the total number of applications to purchase real estate in the TRNC was 15,000. Buyers from the United Kingdom held the top position since 2000, and in the last five years, investors from Iran took the lead.

In the TRNC, the sale or leasing of real estate to citizens of third countries can be carried out depending on the approval of the Council of Ministers. As Turkey recognizes Cyprus as an independent and sovereign state, these issues are presented to the Cypriot authorities, but Turkey cannot directly influence them, the minister emphasized.