Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1385129
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JUNE 2021 12 COMMERCIAL WHEN it comes to subject per- sons, whose businesses are at a risk of being misused by money launderers or terrorism financ- ers, it pays, in more ways than one for them to be as thorough as possible. That is because it is eventually their own businesses that stand to be affected, if not directly then most definitely in- directly, by any decline in Mal- ta's jurisdictional reputation. As the FIAU's Head of Intelli- gence Analysis Ruth Aisthorpe Gauci explains, "People might feel somewhat disassociated from the repercussions of money laundering and may tend to view it as something that the FIAU or the Police deal with. Often, money laundering is regarded as a victimless crime, and reality, it also undermines economies and affects each and every one of us. That's all there is to it." Every stakeholder needs to car- ry their part of the weight, both in their own personal interest as well as in the national interest. Ms Aisthorpe Gauci explained how there are only so many gate- keepers and if criminals can't deposit money freely in bank accounts they will turn to other service providers which is why "We need to close the doors to criminals finding ways to laun- der their money, given that ulti- mately it has to go somewhere." And that is exactly where sub- ject persons, the gatekeepers as such, and their STRs come into the equation. But why should an accountant, for example, go the extra mile to provide extra in- formation in their STRs, rather than simply carrying out a half- baked, box-ticking exercise? "Let's put it this way," Aisthor- pe Gauci says. "Subject persons have a legal obligation to report suspicions to the FIAU and to provide information when re- quested within a set timeframe. Failure to honour these obliga- tions can result in regulatory action taken against the subject person. However, this goes back to what was said earlier, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing is not just the FIAU's responsibility, or the po- lice's, it is the responsibility of every single stakeholder, includ- ing authorities as well as subject persons. It should not be the fear of regulatory action that drives reporting of suspicious transac- tions but the understanding of the importance to operate in a reputable jurisdiction." The FIAU's Intelligence Analy- sis Section, as the name implies, analyses intelligence. Intelli- gence is derived from multiple sources with the main source of information being from subject persons, however intelligence is also received from other FIUs as well as other authorities. Intelligence differs from evi- dence. Put simply, intelligence is the starting point, which would require further checks that would indicate or suggest that the persons involved are likely involved in activity which relates to money laundering or terrorist financing. Evidence on the other hand is something that proves facts in a court and is collected within the ambit of a criminal investigation by the Police. But those who have submit- ted STRs should not lose heart if they do not see police action. Ms Aisthorpe Gauci explains that the quality of an STR has nothing to do with the value of the STR or whether or not that STR results in a dissemination to the police. "There seems to be a general misconception, that if an STR does not result in a dissem- ination to the police, something was wrong with the quality of the submission." A good quality STR is based on the extent and quality of infor- mation given to the FIAU. "To put it simply, if we receive an STR with half the informa- tion, it is either going to throw us off track or it is going to take us longer to process that STR because we are fishing out in- formation that should have been provided in the first place. "So a good quality rated STR is one where the subject person has given us all the information and documentation they them- selves used or referred to in order to reach the level of sus- picion required to submit the STR. They also need to explain to us the basis on which they are suspecting money laundering or the financing of terrorism. It is then the FIAU's role to gather further information to elaborate upon the subject person's report, especially given that the subject person , whose task it is to flag any suspicions, is usually seeing just one part of what may be a far larger picture. As a result, during the analytical phase information obtained by the FIAU can either serve to increase or reduce the level of suspicion reported by the subject person. As Intelligence Analysis Sen- ior Manager William Scicluna explains, "The subject person would have been justified in sub- mitting the STR because, in their view, there was something suspi- cious. We then would look at the bigger picture from the informa- tion we have at hand and from numerous other sources and we look at the totality of the case." STRs these days are received by the FIAU through the goAML database, a tool developed by the UNODC and which is current- ly used by 56 FIUs around the world, with another 55 showing interest in implementing it. Mr Scicluna describes the pro- cess in a nutshell, "Following receipt or a suspicious report, a preliminary analysis of the STR is carried out. We cross-check the information with readily availa- ble databases, and we assess the STR first in terms of quality both from a subject person's point of view in terms of how much in- formation and what kind of in- formation with which they have provided us. The other aspect is the actual information itself, the reason behind the suspicion of money laundering, terrorism funding or predicate offence". "We then escalate accordingly The fight against money laundering: what it When it comes to the reporting of suspicions of money laundering or terrorism financing, and the provision of information to the FIAU, it is ultimately in subject persons' best interests, both in the short as well as the long term to have an effective reporting regime and to furnish the FIAU with information in a timely and comprehensive manner. Having subject persons who are effective and efficient in this area translates not only into personal good standing but also contributes positively to Malta's reputation. The FIAU's Head of Intelligence Analysis Ruth Aisthorpe Gauci and Senior Manager William Scicluna explain to David Lindsay