Moneyval, the international anti-money laundering body has slammed Malta for failing to tackle financial crimes.
In a recent report, Moneyval said that there were still unacceptable risks around banking and gambling, despite efforts to clean things up following the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was investigating corruption, on 16th October 2017.
According to the organisation, the Malta police force have not been effectively tracing criminal money, especially surrounding online gambling.
Despite this, Maltese politicians have said they are satisfied with the progress made, and are implementing a plan to carry out Moneyval’s recommendations – of which there are fifty-eight.
Moneyval attributes the lack of progress to limited human and financial resources, and has said they do not believe the Maltese police can effectively investigate and prosecute cases involving financial bribery and corruption.
About Moneyval?
The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism – MONEYVAL is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as with the task of making recommendations to national authorities in respect of necessary improvements to their systems.
