Members of a global anti-money laundering watchdog have voted to add Malta to its grey list, according to a report on Times of Malta.
The news broke out shortly after 2.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.
The Times reports that a high ranking official within government said the country had not garnered the required support from FATF members to avoid the greylisting.
It is understood that the US did not back Malta during Wednesday’s session.
Sources said Malta was one of two countries that the FATF plenary voted to add to the grey list, with the other being Romania. If those votes are confirmed, they will be the first two EU countries to be added to the list.
The FATF which serves as a watchdog against money laundering and terrorist financing, is currently run by the German presidency.
Earlier reports indicated that the US, Germany and the UK.
The vote must now be formally approved by the task force’s broader membership but this is considered to be only a rubberstamping process.
Reactions
Prime Minister – Prime Minister Robert Abela has described a decision to add Malta to a financial crime watchdog’s grey list as “unjust” and said that most concerns flagged by global assessors had been addressed. “I feel this decision was not deserved. I feel this is unjust,” Abela said, insisting that a “majority” of countries had not agreed with the FATF’s verdict, though he did not elaborate further. “Entities involved in the fight against money laundering defended Malta’s case and explained all that we have achieved over the past years. At no point did we forget Malta’s interest or take a position that can weaken the prosperity of Maltese families and businesses,” the PM said.
Leader or the Opposition – The decision this afternoon by the Financial Action Task Force to grey list Malta is “a punishment for the whole country”, opposition leader Bernard Grech has said. “We now need to work together to reach a consensus on how to get back on the FATF’s white list,” he said in a recorded message on Facebook. “I am inviting the government to set up a national task force that will bring us all together to work to see Malta off the grey list once again.”
Malta Chamber – The Malta Chamber calls for all key stakeholders in the country to come together, analyse the implications and devise a clear action plan on how to move forward following the disappointing result of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluation. It must be borne in mind that Malta has very recently obtained a positive Moneyval assessment which attests that it is technically compliant. We are now at a stage where we must convince the FATF of the effective implementation and enforcement of our recently established rigorous regulatory framework to be removed from the greylist in the shortest time possible.
Evidently, compliance clearly needs a joint Government and stakeholder approach which binds all towards a commitment towards our country and more importantly its people. The key to turning around this situation, is by joining forces to enforce the existing framework and have effective monitoring systems to safeguard our jurisdiction.
The Malta Chamber will work with all the key stakeholders in the country to make sure that an action plan is drawn up to respond constructively and diligently to the situation, to ensure that the country’s international reputation is restored.
Malta Employers Association – The news that Malta has been grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force has dealt a devastating blow for the Maltese economy which will stretch its resilience to its limit. Unlike the COVID pandemic, this crisis is entirely self-inflicted and the result of lax and corrupt practices by a minority of dishonest politicians and businesses, compounded with ineffective governance systems. Our justice system has also proven to be strong with the weak, whereas glaring transgressions and crimes, including a murder of a journalist that have made international news remain unresolved or languish in the labyrinth of our judicial system.
Our country has been shaken by too many scandals involving senior politicians and politically exposed persons as well as the major institutions. The best efforts of the current Minister of Finance, Clyde Caruana, to clean up the the mess left by his predecessor, failed to impress the FATF.
Unfortunately, the repercussions of the grey listing will be carried by honest businesses and their employees. The cost of added compliance procedures is already stifling many businesses. MEA has, for years, been campaigning for a reform at political level to have a clean administration, run by competent and trustworthy people. It is unfortunate that such appeals by the Association and other social partners which have also been made at the MCESD have been ignored by government.
Our focus should be on the need for national unity with the involvement of all. We have had to learn our lesson the hard way as a country, that governance is not to be taken lightly.
