Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1302895
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 OCTOBER 2020 NEWS COURT NOTICE The Registrar of Civil Courts and Tribunals informs that the Civil Court, First Hall ordered the following sales by auction: Date Time Judicial Sale No Place Items 04 th November, 2020 11:00am 10/20EGL Waste Oils Company Ltd (C14999) Vs Patron Group Ltd (C35369) Unit B26-B27, Five Star Business Park, Triq il-Belt Valletta, Għaxaq 1) Life raft in a cylindrical form, white in colour 2) Red Dinghy of the brand Zodiac 09 th November, 2020 11:00am 32/11JGL Cutajar Brian (ID227379M) noe Vs Cutajar Salvatore sive Salvu (ID375142M) Room number 78 nearby the Archives, level -1, Courts of Justice, Republic Street, Valletta 100 ordinary shares within the company S.C. & Company Limited C- 6050 11 th November, 2020 11:00am 12/20AZ Mallia Olivia (ID400479M) Vs Furtseva Inna Sergeevna (ID110174A) 9, San Pawl, Triq Dun Karm Vella, Hal Safi Vehicle of the make Toyota Yaris, red in colour, with the registration number INN555 18 th November, 2020 11:00am 18/20AZ Gasan Zammit Motors Ltd (C57642) Vs Borg Tino (ID312976M) 18, Triq il-Wilġa, Għaxaq Vehicle of the make Isuzu D Max, white in colour with the registration number FCI 707. 25 th November, 2020 11:00am 17/20JGL J. Zammit Limited (C37945) Vs Gauci Nazzareno (ID684650M) et Garage number 9, Triq tal-Ħlas Ħaż-Żebbuġ Vehicle of the make Mercedenz Benz Saloon blue in colour with the registration number POQ 992. Further details can be obtained from the website: https://ecourts.gov.mt/onlineservices/JudicialSales The bidders taking part in the auction must present their identity card Gaetana Aquilina For the Registrar Civil Courts and Tribunals MATTHEW VELLA A law that could help Malta clamp down on organised crime and money laundering has been watered down to the extent that it could allow people with known criminal ties, to retain unexplained wealth as long as they live. The Proceeds of Crime Bill, which was recently debated in the House, contains provisions for the confiscation of assets suspected of having been pro- cured through criminal meth- ods, without the need of a con- viction. But the three cases in which this will be possible does not include any moment in which the owner of the assets is ac- tually alive or inside Malta: according to the Bill, non-con- viction confiscation will only be possible when a perpetrator absconds or is not in Malta; or when they die, whether during or without criminal proceed- ings hanging over them. That means that, unlike the Irish example, the police can- not seize assets which upon 'belief evidence' they suspect are proceeds of crime and for which their owner must ac- count for how they were oba- tined. Justice minister Edward Zam- mit Lewis disagreed with the suggestion that the law is not as effective as initially made out to be. "The concept of 'un- explained wealth' is already found in our law... inclusive of concepts such as income tax, social security and other laws." Zammit Lewis said the Bill meets all requisites of Money- val recommendations. "We had the political guts to take on re- forms which for long have been shelved by governments in past years." But MaltaToday understands that, as it originally reported earlier in the year, ministers' complaints at the concept of a UWO had placed the instru- ment on the backburner. Nationalist MP Claudio Grech, who agrees that the law is a step in the right direction and will enjoy the Opposition's support, says that it misses a fundamental piece of the puz- zle without which no meaning- ful change will be realised. "This is the introduction of a tool known as the unexplained wealth order, with which the investigative authorities would have the powers to seize assets which a person investigated on very serious crimes cannot jus- tify the source of funds for. We are not reinventing the wheel here as similar legislation has been enacted in other jurisdic- tions like the UK," Grech says. Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to adopt the UWO following the deaths of crime reporter Veronica Guerin and Jerry McCabe, a detective, at the hands of or- ganised criminals. The UWO reverses the burden of proof to prove the source of the assets on to the respondent. Unlike the UK's own version of the UWO, the Irish law ap- plies more broadly and does not additionally focus on for- eign PEPs, primarily targeting persons suspected of being in- volved in serious and organised crime when there is reasonable grounds to suspect a property is connected to the proceeds of crime, which must be admis- sible as evidence during pro- ceedings. "I have been strongly appeal- ing to the government to re- consider its position on this tool and introduce it as an in- tegral part of this Bill," Grech said. "We cannot miss this window of opportunity to do what's right and strengthen the arm of our financial crime agencies and empower them with strong instruments to be effective and not spend their efforts in vain. The asset seizures over the years have been incredibly low, clearly showing that we have a crater not a small hole to ad- dress." Grech said legitimate business has nothing to be afraid of with this legislation which is exclu- sively focused on proceeds of very serious crimes, local or cross-border. "The changes we are doing in our legislation should not be merely intended to pass the MONEYVAL test or align to the Venice Com- mission's requirements. These should be instruments of change which contribute to the common good of our society." Grech has stated in the House that a stronger law would strengthen the process to avoid Moneyval greylisting. "I under- stand you cannot have a law that allows you to capriciously pick on anyone one chooses... but we need a collective effort for a strong UWO. I under- stand you need courage to in- troduce such a law." Dirty money law lacks bite, says MP Without unexplained wealth order for people suspected of criminal ties, Malta's proceeds of crime bill could fall f lat "I have been strongly appealing to the government to reconsider its position on this tool and introduce the UWO as an integral part of this Bill"