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3 NEWS 17.12.2020 FROM PAGE 1 "is information is totally untrue. Farsons Group is committed to safe- guard all employment and has not made any employees redundant," he told BusinessToday. "We also remain totally committed to meet customer expecta- tions during these challenging times." Aquilina acknowledged that COV- ID-19 had left the group struggling to introduce measures in a bid to mitigate the crippling effects of the pandemic on the company's core business groups. "Turnover fell precipitously across all business lines as consumer demand for food and beverage products declined. is decline was particularly acute in the bars and restaurant sectors when these were ordered to close by govern- ment regulation," Aquilina said. "e al- most total wipe-out of tourism between mid-March and June greatly impacted our business in this segment and, de- spite the reopening of the airport in July, tourist numbers, and our business in this area, continue to remain very low." He said that April 2020, the first full month impacted by COVID-19, saw Group turnover fall by 55%. At that time, all mass events were cancelled and the airport was closed down, effective- ly also shutting down the tourist sector over that period, badly impacting the hotels sector. Competitive market pressures also became more pronounced as all busi- nesses strived to retain their market positions and manage inventory levels. Inevitably, these increased market pres- sures resulted in a further compression in gross margins across the Group. at said, sales within the retail segment are holding on, even if consumers are gen- erally being selectively cautious in their purchasing requirements. Turnover for the six-month period to 31 July 2020 amounted to €36.8 mil- lion compared with €53.3 million for the same period last year – a decrease of 31%. is result is of course a signifi- cant reduction from the profit after tax registered in July 2019 of €6.4 million. e reduction of 75% in the Group's profits was experienced across all busi- ness lines. Aquilina said Farsons Group is taking the opportunity to revisit its business model in line with changing purchasing patterns and customer expectations. Furthermore, it is remaining vigilant for any arising opportunities that may evolve within the marketplace to be able to ensure its continued growth and suc- cess once the pandemic is over. But safeguarding jobs was a priority of Farsons Group at a time when many companies were laying off employees or shutting down their doors. "e Group categorically denies that any employee has been made redun- dant during this period. e Board and Management immediately undertook painful but required measures to curtail expenditure in view of reduced demand for our products in order to safeguard employment of all employees," Aquilina said. "ese measures together with the wage supplement provided by Govern- ment continue to ensure that no em- ployee is made redundant." e Board and management's imme- diate focus was to curtail certain oper- ational and administrative costs, re-vis- it ways of working, whilst at the same time re-evaluating planned capital in- vestment programmes. ese were, and continue to be, critical measures for the protection of employment, commercial viability and safeguarding the financial integrity of the Group. A new normal Consumer behaviour seems to have settled into a new normal as more and more people are learning to live with the reality of COVID-19. Consumer sentiment however does continue to re- flect the uncertainty of this pandemic, with confidence remaining muted and spending intent still below pre-crisis levels. "Consumers remain worried about spending and safety, with a steady shift to value and essentials," Aquilina said. "In fact, people seem to generally be expecting COVID-19 to negatively af- fect their finances as well as their daily routines, with consumers being mindful about their spending and generally trad- ing down to less expensive products." He said the Group had realised Q3 and Q4 would be particularly challenging, especially following the closure of bars and pubs throughout November and December. "As we now move towards the end of the year, the merriment and cheer nor- mally associated with this time of year is undoubtedly going to be significantly muted. Uncertainty will continue to in- fluence behaviour and we are likely to witness a continued reduction in con- sumer demand and therefore the pro- pensity to spend, which unfortunately will continue to impact the profitability of the Group," Aquilina said. On a more positive note, he said that recent announcements regarding the success in the development of a safe vaccine and its possible deployment before the end of the year, augur well and have lifted spirits and expectations somewhat. "Together with the rest of the world, we look forward to a rapid rollout of a safe vaccine here in Malta," he said. A cautious approach And what of the months ahead? Aq- uilina said the high level of dislocation and disruption brought about by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic was expected to persist over the coming months, even with the introduction of a vaccine. "e uncertainty will likely persist for some time longer. e immediate fu- ture is far from clear and forward vis- ibility for business planning purposes remains subdued. Agility in respond- ing to fast-moving events will be key," he said. "We remain vigilant and are committed to continuing to implement such further measures as are necessary to safeguard the Group's presence in the market, to protect the work force and to secure the financial viability and integ- rity of the business." Malta must prosecute more money laundering cases – Council of Europe A monitoring body for the Council of Europe's Convention on money laun- dering and crime has called upon Malta to apply its monitoring measures more frequently and to prosecute the cases. e Council of Europe said Malta had already implemented most legal provi- sions that establish sufficient power to obtain information on account holders, including the beneficial owner, and to obtain the "historic" banking informa- tion. e legislative measures are also suf- ficient to prevent the disclosure of the information related to the investigation or monitoring order. But the statistics provided by the Mal- tese authorities indicated that the pow- ers provided for in the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Con- fiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS) are not being used regularly in investigations of proceeds generating crimes and that no monitoring orders have been issued by the courts. "e Maltese authorities are encour- aged to further raise awareness of the practical possibilities for law enforce- ment of these powers," the Council of Europe said. e follow up report discussed and adopted in 2018 confirmed that over the period 2015-2018 no monitoring orders were issued but that law enforcement received training on how to use this instrument. "Malta is invited to apply monitoring measures more frequently and develop cases on its implementa- tion," the Council of Europe said. e 2014 assessment report on Malta noted that monitoring of banking oper- ations could be performed based on a monitoring order. e Attorney Gener- al must request approval by the Crimi- nal Court for a monitoring order in case of suspicion that there is a money laun- dering offence. Based on such an order, the banks are required to monitor, for a specific peri- od, transactions or banking operations that are being carried out through one or more accounts. e accounts monitored can be of a specific suspect, can be suspected of be- ing used in commission of a criminal of- fence or can provide information about the offence or about the circumstances of an offence. e FIAU was also found to make reg- ular use of monitoring orders on trans- actions suspected to involve money laundering, or property derived from proceeds of criminal activity or from acts of participation in a criminal activ- ity. Farsons Group CEO Norman Aquilina COVID-19 forced Farsons to focus on changing purchasing patterns and customer expectations

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