Former FIAU director says Malta being grey-listed ‘is inevitable’

Former Director of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit director Manfred Galdes has commented on the threat of Malta being grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force, saying “the outcome is inevitable.”

Moneylaundering.com recently reported that Malta is increasingly likely to become the first EU country to end up on an intergovernmental group’s list of nations that pose a high risk of financial crime by the end of the year.

Last September, Moneyval, the European branch of the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, ruled that Malta remains highly exposed to illicit finance but lacks the resources and infrastructure required to prosecute and seize assets from money launderers and the criminals they serve. Malta has until October to implement Moneyval’s 58 recommendations for bolstering its campaign against financial crime to avoid inclusion on the group’s “grey list” of high-risk jurisdictions. Being placed on the frey list would be a very serious problem for Malta.

Commenting on the moneylaundering.com report on Linkedin, Galdes said: “It seems that it’s finally sinking in. The outcome is inevitable. We should be focusing on softening the blow and getting out of the grey list within the shortest time possible.”

Galdes had resigned from the FIAU in 2016 and moved into private practice.