Risky to commit on grey-listing timeframes – Abela / Malta News Briefing – Saturday 5 March 2022

Update 1330

Risky to commit on grey-listing timeframes – Abela

PM Robert Abela said that it was not prudent to commit to a date by which Malta could be out of grey-listing. “We worked on what was needed to be done, in coordination with FATF and through dialogue. This news means that more foreign investment will be attracted to Malta,” Abela said on Saturday. “Technical experts will continue working independently and in silence. We had a plan and we implemented it in an efficient way.” [Maltatoday]

Konrad Mizzi bows out of Parliament

Former Labour Deputy Leader Konrad Mizzi has announced he will not be contesting the upcoming general election. Writing on Facebook, Mizzi described his time in politics as a beautiful experience which were a result of “work, results, struggles and lessons.” Mizzi was kicked out of Labour’s parliamentary group in the wake of a number of scandals that had rocked the Labour administration. He stayed on as an independent MP. The former minister said that over the past two years, God had become a central part of his life, something that gave him peace. [Times of Malta]

Covid-19 Update
Covid-19 has claimed the life of a 64-year-old woman over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Malta to 608.
In Saturday’s update, the health authorities said that 121 new cases were found. With 75 recoveries, the number of active cases currently stands at 845. [Newsbook]

Malta substantially completes FATF Action plan, Government says

At its February 2022 Plenary, the Financial Action Task Force made the initial determination that Malta has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site visit. Through a DOI statement, Government said that in its technical analysis, the FATF noted how Malta has taken all the necessary steps to strategically address the recommendations made to it.

“This technical analysis led the FATF plenary to accept the recommendation to visit Malta to confirm this progress”, it said. Malta has been grey-listed last year after failure to reach the respective standards on tax evasion and provision of information related to ultimate beneficiary owners of companies.

Chamber to host first Abela-Grech debate

The electoral campaign’s first debate between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech is being hosted by the Malta Chamber on March 16. The debate will be live on Facebook starting at 11am. Members of the business community will be invited to attend.

Abela tackles the undecided, Grech targets students

Robert Abela pitched a further appeal to undecided voters on Friday, a move reflective of concerns that sections of the PL vote could be considering an abstention. Abela addressed those which were not happy with decisions taken by Labour and said where possible solutions will be found. Rival Bernard Grech visited students at the Junior College in Msida on Friday, highlighting the PN’s proposal on education, while also sharing his passion for gaming with the young students.

Covid-19 Update: 98 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Friday, while 72 recovered, bringing active cases up to 800. Three persons are currently in ITU.