Grech calls for setting up of national task force to put Malta back on FATF white list

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech called on the government to work with the opposition by setting up a national task force with the goal of placing Malta back on the FATF white list as soon as possible. 

Following reports made by the media regarding the widely expected move by the members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) who voted to grey list Malta on Wednesday, PN Leader Grech said that he is very dissapointed with such a vote. 

During a press conference on Wednesday, PN leader Grech said “I am very disappointed that members of the FATF have voted to add Malta to its grey list. This is a punishment on all the Maltese people. This is not the time to dwell on why we ended up in this situation but to work together for the national consensus.”

Grech said that the Nationalist party seeks to instil hope within these sectors. 

“The FATF will meet again in October and Malta must be on the agenda – this time for our country to go back on the FATF white list”, Grech said. 

Grech remarked that “this will be made possible if we work together at a national level with the participation of both sides of the room, together with partners and financial experts in order to implement it more convincingly and with a national consensus. This will seek to limit the long-term damage on Malta’s economy.” 

He added that “I am confident that as a community and country we will be able to overcome this challenge, similar to the ways we have managed to overcome the great challenges of the past.” 

“The PN, as an alternative government, promises the Maltese and Gozitan people that the party will always work on improving Malta’s reputation by increasing transperancy, promoting integrity, increasing scruting and changing the mindset of the country’s highest institutions,” Grech said.

The PN said in a statement that it was calling an urgent parliamentary group meeting to discuss the matter on Wednesday.

Prior to today’s reports, PN Grech had written to the FATF, saying that a PN government would restore Malta’s reputation.