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Moneyval: Malta must step up investigation and prosecution of money laundering

In a report published today, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL calls on the Maltese authorities to strengthen their practical application of their measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is… Read More

Christie’s expert hunts for stolen millions in lawsuit against Bank of Valletta

An international hunt for millions in cash stolen from an art specialist in New York has found its way into a Maltese court, knocking on the door of auditor Joseph Sammut and his Libyan networks. Sammut, a one-time treasurer for the Labour Party, is already in court facing… Read More

‘Swiss Leaks’ banker admits to helping clients hide money

A former chief executive of HSBC’s Swiss unit has pleaded guilty to helping wealthy clients hide at least €1.6 million. AFP recently reported that Peter Braunwalder was fined $560,000 and received a one-year suspended sentence in France for his role in helping HSBC’s clients stash their cash. The Swiss Leaks… Read More

30th July 2019

From Belarus to Bahrain, the small states going big on cryptocurrency

When Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya in March 2017, their discussion was scheduled to last for an hour but went on for three times that long. The meeting, Prokopenya said, ended with Lukashenko asking him to propose regulations to boost the country’s tech sector. Prokopenya worked with… Read More

25th July 2019

Malta’s anti-money laundering regime fails final Moneyval review

Malta’s anti-money laundering regime has failed a review by international experts and the island now has a year to get its house in order or face potential blacklisting procedures. Monitoring body Moneyval gave Malta just over a year to address a series of shortcomings in its anti-money laundering efforts following… Read More

28th June 2019

Malta to Launch New Agency to Fight Financial Crime

Maltese Finance Minister Edward Scicluna on Thursday disclosed plans to create a new governmental agency tasked with increasing money laundering prosecutions in the country, The Times of Malta reported. Although the structure of the proposed investigatory body has yet to be determined, officials hope to launch an agency capable… Read More

7th June 2019

EU Recommends AML Measures for Six Countries

The European Commission on Wednesday called on six EU member-states to bolster their anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory and enforcement efforts in light of recent bank scandals and the risks of crypto-assets. The requests highlight recent efforts by Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Sweden and Malta… Read More

29th May 2019

Malta failing on rule of law after journalist’s murder: draft report

The failure of Maltese authorities to identify the masterminds behind the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia raises questions about the rule of law in Malta, according to Europe’s chief human rights watchdog. Caruana Galizia, whose reporting uncovered widespread corruption, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. Read More

10th May 2019

Binance hackers shift stolen bitcoin, identity still unclear: researchers

Hackers who stole bitcoin worth over $40 million from the major Binance cryptocurrency exchange have moved the tainted coins to a number of digital wallets, researchers said on Thursday, potentially throwing up clues to those behind the heist. Binance, one of the world’s biggest exchanges, said on Wednesday that hackers… Read More

15th April 2019

Council of Europe Urges Swift Action on Money Laundering, Citing Baltics and UK

European lawmakers are urging financial institutions and governments to address dozens of legal and supervisory shortcomings they say contributed to the proliferation of massive money laundering schemes in recent years. In a resolution adopted Thursday, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly said that recent money laundering schemes linked to… Read More

4th April 2019

Council of Europe Issues ‘Call to Action’ on Alleged Maltese Corruption

The government of Malta has no coherent plan to fight corruption and has failed to penalize officials for apparent criminality, a Strasbourg-based watchdog group said in a report Thursday. While the country has an adequate institutional framework “on paper” to mitigate governmental wrongdoing, a string of high-profile corruption scandals involving… Read More

3rd April 2019

MEPs Warn on Alleged Corruption in Malta and Slovakia

Members of the European Parliament are voicing concerns about the rule of law in Malta and Slovakia following the murder of two journalists investigating corruption and organized crime in the countries. The parliamentarians on Thursday formally adopted the conclusions reached last summer by a working group established within the Civil… Read More

26th February 2019

Malta leads on cryptoassets regulation while EU ponders

As the European Commission ponders whether the European Union needs rules for cryptoassets and trading in virtual currencies, EU states are moving ahead with their own regulations, with the smallest of them, Malta, leading the pack. The risks of investing in the industry were made clear last year when Bitcoin,… Read More

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