Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1378870
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 MAY 2021 13 FIAU A SPECIAL REPORT Malta's anti-money laundering commitments kept the momentum going." Dr Frendo adds how the use of videoconferencing has, at least when it comes to meetings on an international level, signif- icantly increased the interac- tion during the Covid-19 pan- demic. "The FIAU, attended nothing less than five meetings of the Expert Group on Mon- ey Laundering and Funding of Terrorism (EGMLTF) presided by the European Commission last year and this year we have already attended to four such meetings via videoconference. It is not all doom and gloom. But of course, the downside is that when meetings break up there is no networking on the side lines. There are the plusses and the minuses, but, overall, the frequency of such meetings has actually increased." 'We are a main player in the fight against ML/FT, but we are not alone' The FIAU does not act in a vacuum but in cooperation with other authorities. As Dr Frendo explains, "Even at na- tional level, it is not only the FIAU's fight against ML/FT. Other important national play- ers, such as the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Com- mission for Voluntary Organi- sations, the Asset Recovery Bu- reau, the Sanctions Monitoring Board, and the Police, among others, are all in some way or another involved. Such nation- al players, including subject persons, essentially work like loops within a chain in the fight against ML/FT". To further enhance and facil- itate collaboration, during the last year the FIAU concluded three new Memoranda of Un- derstanding to strengthen its cooperation efforts with more national authorities: one with the Accountancy Board, a da- ta sharing agreement with the Malta Business Registry, and another with the Central Bank of Malta. Apart from the importance of cooperation on a national lev- el, international cooperation is critical to the FIAU, to fully perform its functions. "For this there are MOUs on cooperation and information exchange with our FIU counterparts. Practi- cally all jurisdictions around the world have their own FIU and they need to communi- cate with each other. ML/FT are predominantly deemed as cross-border crimes, meaning that they may be committed in, with, or in relation to more than one jurisdiction. While EU directives already provide a strong cooperation and ex- change mechanism between EU FIUs; it is not so straight forward when it comes to third countries. Therefore, we strive to establish agreements with our FIU counterparts to further facilitate cooperation and exchange of information. The FIAU has so far conclud- ed some sixteen MOUs and is currently in open negotiations with four other FIUs across the globe." "Our Financial Intelligence Section makes use of these agreements practically every hour when they interact with their foreign counterparts. So, even here, the FIAU's FIU func- tion has to be seen as a global player in the fight against ML/ FT." Malta's list of politically ex- posed positions Legal changes need not always translate into new obligations but can also make life easier for subject persons. A case in point would be the EU's 5th AMLD and the requirement for each EU jurisdiction to draw up a list of politically exposed posi- tions. According to Dr Phyall, this should make things a little eas- ier for subject persons "in the sense that it provides for each member state to draw up a list of those positions in their juris- diction considered to be politi- cally exposed". "At least you know, that when subject persons are onboarding a customer, they now know as it is clearly listed, that the posi- tion that person holds is politi- cally-exposed." "In our case, the National Co- ordinating Committee worked on compiling Malta's list. It has been communicated to the Commission and it will publish it together with those of other member states." Each member states' list will vary, and Malta's size has been taken into consideration in this respect. By way of example, whilst certain mayors may fea- ture on some countries' lists, Maltese mayors will not, natu- rally because a mayor of larg- er cities and towns in bigger countries, would have far more powers and budget at their disposal. The ultimate hurdle with any transposition exercise remains the subsequent assess- ment. "However, you transpose it," Dr Phyall says, "You are going to get assessed as to how you have done it. And if there is an- ything the Commission thinks has not been transposed prop- erly, they are going to point it out and possibly initiate in- fringement proceedings against the country, which is never a good thing and that we do our utmost to try and avoid."