Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1264355
PHOTO BY JAMES BIANCHI 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JUNE 2020 INTERVIEW The Ombudsman's report this week was an indictment of Mal- ta's state of governance: espe- cially the fragility of national in- stitutions "whose inability and failure to promptly bring to jus- tice those responsible for seri- ous violations of the law grave- ly undermined the democratic credentials of the country." Do you take this as confirmation that accusations of criminality and mafia, inside the highest echelons of power in Malta, are in effect true? First of all, I cannot comment either way when it comes to matters of criminality, because that is something for the courts to decide… But that's the whole point of the Ombudsman's criticism: that national institutions were not functioning properly… I don't agree that the law courts 'were not functioning'… you have to make a distinction between 'not functioning', and needing renewal, or needing greater administrative capacity. Let me give you a concrete ex- ample: the executive police. I believe that there is need to in- crease the capacity as regards the fight against economic crime: and this is something we are working hard upon, with the help of Minister Byron Camilleri and Minister Edward Scicluna. The Police Force has to em- bark on a total root-and-branch overhaul, even with regard to the conditions of employment of the people they recruit: to get people who are equipped, vis-à-vis hu- man resources, to analyse data; to analyse bank statements; to be better able to fight white-collar crime. But this is what we are al- ready doing. That is why, with- in four months, I conducted and proposed a number of key reforms. Because I agree with the Ombudsman, that certain institutions need renewal and strengthening; and past expe- rience shows us that particular sectors are exposed to white col- lar crime… Yet the Moneyval adjudication, coming up in October, is widely expect to 'grey-list' Malta as a financial centre: based on the fact that there have been no criminal prosecutions, despite evidence of economic crimes having taken place during the time when Labour was in pow- er… I don't agree with you there. I believe that the reform in the Police Force has been overdue, not just for the last seven years. More like the last 17 years… But Labour has nonetheless been in power for the last sev- en years, and nothing was done about it during all that time… That is why we are conducting the necessary reforms, and tak- ing them highly seriously – with inter-ministerial co-ordination, under the Office of the Prime Minister - to adhere to the Moneyval recommendations: not just to tick all the right box- es, but to have adequate struc- tures to reduce our exposure to economic crime. We are country where two im- portant pillars are financial ser- vices, and remote gaming; and as you can appreciate, those sectors are indispensable to high-quality jobs. But they also give us high exposure to trans-border crime; to money-laundering; to financ- ing of terrorist activities… I'm not saying any of this is happen- ing, but we do have that expo- sure. And we need to limit that exposure. Do you think you'll manage in time to avoid what has been described as the 'inevitable' grey-listing of Malta? I am optimist; and we are work- ing very hard towards it. We will soon have the opportunity to do another interview, on the very important laws and structures we are introducing, especially to fight money-laundering… Meanwhile, the decision to sack Konrad Mizzi this week was heralded as 'raising the ethical bar' inside Labour; but without clear investigations on the Pan- ama Papers and other major investments such as VGH and the Electrogas power station… isn't this a hollow gesture? Do you agree that many of the ma- jor decisions and investments under the aegis of Joseph Mus- cat and Keith Schembri have to be investigated by police and magistrates? I disagree with your question, because it is not factually cor- rect. The prime minister did take a decision: he took a very important decision, within the structures of the party… I'm not saying he didn't. I'm asking whether it was enough, given that Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri were involved in so many other questionable government transactions… But there are investigations ongoing. On Vitals, for instance, there is a magisterial inquiry… under Magistrate Doreen Clarke. There are other investigations in progress. Are they taking long? Yes, I agree that they are. And I believe that they should be con- cluded as quickly as possible; I have said so publicly as well. But I cannot intervene; as if I do, it would undermine the im- partiality and independence of our judicial system… The decision itself was taken last Tuesday. But the Montene- gro connection has been known to the Prime Minister since at least last January: when it was brought up at a Cabinet meet- Malta is under severe pressure to reform its justice and law enforcement sectors, especially when it comes to economic crime. Justice Minister EDWARD ZAMMIT LEWIS is however confident that his reform programme will meet the required standards Limiting our exposure to economic crime Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt