Bangladesh, June 6 -- A sweeping set of audits released by Cypruss Auditor General has cast a harsh light on the political entanglements of the now-defunct “golden passport” scheme, revealing that more than €1.1 million in donations flowed to Cypriot political parties from individuals and companies connected to the controversial citizenship-by-investment program.

The revelations add a new layer of scrutiny to a scheme that had already drawn international criticism for enabling wealthy foreign nationals-some with criminal histories-to obtain Cypriot (and by extension, EU) citizenship by investing a minimum of €2 million in real estate or other approved assets. Between its launch in 2007 and its cancellation in late...