Malta Money Laundering and Financial Crime

Malta’s commitment in combat of money laundering and financial crime.

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, Moneyval, has released its report on the effectiveness of Malta’s anti money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism system, on 9^th September 2019. In its conclusion, it has called on the Maltese authorities to strengthen their measures for combating money laundering and financing of terrorism.  Senior Malta Government officials have promptly welcomed the report findings and committed to a strict implementation plan.

Malta is deeply committed to helping combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.  The Malta authorities are determined to commit more resources towards strengthening the related institutions, regulators and law enforcement agencies. Even before the Moneyval report, Malta has initiated an in-depth  National Risk Assessment and shortly after, a National Coordinating Committee (NCC) was set up, composed of senior officials from all competent government institutions. Together with other stakeholders, the committee has embarked on a multi-year Strategic Action Plan. The NCC, in collaboration with competent institutions have been tasked to prepare a detailed one-year action plan to implement the fifty-eight MONEYVAL recommendations, with each recommendation entrusted to a competent institution.  These will complement the measures listed in the Strategic Action Plan, which was being implemented at the time the Moneyval Report was issued, and which was part of a three-year action plan launched by the NCC.

The recent findings by the Basel Institute for Governance, classified Malta as a low risk jurisdiction for money laundering and terrorist financing, hence confirms that Malta can successfully address and implement reforms to strengthen its regulatory and law-enforcement institutions. The Maltese authorities have formally committed to continue the exchanging of information and collaboration with other countries to address this cross-border challenge. These measures, together with plans to set up of a financial crime agency, look to preserve Malta’s reputation as a preferred investment hub and to further ensure that the financial services industry continues to blossom.

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