22 RAMADAN v. MALTA JUDGMENT above) does not apply to the applicant, as his application had already been processed and determined. Thus, his citizenship was obtained prior to the amendments to the Act enacted in 2000. It follows that the deprivation of citizenship was in accordance with the law. 87. Moreover, the Court observes that, in accordance with sub-article (4) of Article 14 of the Act – which was applicable in 2006 when the applicant was informed that an order was to be made to deprive him of his Maltese citizenship – prior to the Minister’s decision, the applicant was informed of the possibility of requesting an inquiry, and in fact proceeded to take such action. Thus, the applicant had the opportunity – of which he availed himself – to defend himself in a procedure which consisted of a number of hearings where he was assisted by a lawyer and where oral and written submissions were made, and evidence, including witness testimony, was produced before the relevant board. He subsequently had the opportunity to challenge that decision before the courts with constitutional jurisdiction affording the relevant guarantees. It follows that the decision depriving the applicant of his citizenship was accompanied by the necessary procedural safeguards. 88. Although it could be questioned whether in the instant case the authorities acted diligently and swiftly (see, mutatis mutandis, Nunez v. Norway, no. 55597/09, § 82, 28 June 2011, and Borisov v. Lithuania, no. 9958/04, § 112, 14 June 2011), the Court notes that any delay occurring did not disadvantage the applicant, who continued to benefit from the situation (compare Kaftailova v. Latvia (striking out) [GC], no. 59643/00, § 53, 7 December 2007). 89. The Court therefore concludes that the decision of the Maltese authorities to deprive the applicant of his Maltese citizenship was not arbitrary. Furthermore, the applicant was aware that when his marriage was annulled his citizenship could be revoked at any time by the Minister, and thus that he was in a precarious situation. Moreover, the Court cannot ignore the fact that the situation complained of came about as a result of the applicant’s fraudulent behaviour (see paragraphs 14 and 24 above) and that any consequences complained of are to a large extent a result of his own choices and actions (compare Shevanova v. Latvia (striking out) [GC], no. 58822/00, § 49, 7 December 2007). 90. As to the consequences of the revocation of the applicant’s Maltese citizenship, the Court notes that, as held above (see paragraph 56), the applicant is not threatened with expulsion from Malta. Importantly, although the applicant’s Russian wife has lost her exempt person status, the applicant’s sons VR and VL have not lost their Maltese citizenship, nor have there been any attempts to that effect by the authorities in the nine years since the applicant was deprived of his Maltese citizenship. Furthermore, as admitted by the applicant himself, to date he has been able to pursue his business and continues to reside in Malta.