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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JUNE 2021 Greylist: a call for a new political will to clean up our act Editorial IT is certainly unprecedented for a European Union member state to be placed on the FATF's list of juris- dictions under increased monitoring, better known as the 'greylist'. Malta's recent history of growth on steroids, its financial centre's advancement as a ma- jor clearing house for international transactions, and the dubious money-raker from the golden passports scheme, certainly helped to throw a harsh light on the islands. Undoubtedly, Malta is a price-taker in interna- tional relations. Even though decision-makers might point their finger at the tax haven that is the United State's Delaware, or even within the City of London and others of the European Union, the odds are stacked against a small economy like Mal- ta. But even inside the FATF plenary, where con- sensus was not reached despite an overwhelming vote in favour of Malta on two questions related to the island's compliance on anti-money laundering frameworks, the words of the German civil servant who presided over the plenary, Marcus Pleyer, are a stark reminder of the lack of trust nurtured by the Maltese government on matters of governance. This not just a matter of international remon- strance against Malta. For years now, Maltese of all hues and political affiliations keep remarking at the abnormal manner in which our system of pros- ecution and justice is functioning. Financial crime, for one, was rarely prosecuted before 2020; the fi- nancial regulator itself had for years been led with- out any widespread supervisory inspections being carried out in response to Malta's growth as an in- ternational financial centre; the FIAU's reports on money laundering lacked a positive response from the police, which is today equipped with its dedi- cated Financial Crimes Investigations Department; even countless reports of domestic tax avoidance, as evidence in MaltaToday's report on a €1 billion tally of uncollected dues, shows little has been done politically to render the country's citizens ac- countable. What is certainly known is that Malta achieved high levels of technical compliance, in which it showed its counterparts abroad that its law books were all in order and ready to spring in action. But the question mark for the Maltese was whether they were politically committed to these rules. And herein lies the rub. Because it has taken the force of the FATF and the 'ignominy' of its greylist, to remind Malta once again that there is an interna- tional framework of rules that must be adhered to; and it has to be seen, domestically as well, that it is adhering to it. More heads on a stick, therefore, one might expect. There is no doubt that Malta is a place where the wheels of justice can be slow and certain prosecu- tions leave much to be desired. A case in point is the Enemalta oil scandal of 2013: all its main pro- tagonists have, since being charged, carried on with their main businesses, expanded, even issued calls for public financing, with nobody seemingly breathing down their neck. No wonder the sense of unfairness from Maltese justice seems pervasive. But even here, we can see structural problems that force us to ask: why have the police not forced this investigation through, why have the law courts not demanded a conclusion to this case, and why must one wait almost a decade for a court to decide on a corruption case? Malta is not the only European member state with severe deficiencies in the implementation and en- forcement of anti-money laundering rules and reg- ulations. Of the 18 member states assessed by the FATF by November 2020, not one attained a high level of effectiveness on key anti-money launder- ing indicators. Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Latvia, Lithu- ania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Portugal and Hungary were all rated as displaying a moderate or low level of effectiveness when it comes to combating money-laundering. This must be a wake-up call for Europe for all member states, not just Malta. But that does not mean that Malta should just complain about other member states or point fin- gers at the international community. It must clean up its own house. 26 June 2011 White Rocks developers claim 'government problems' stalling negotiations NEGOTIATIONS intended to finalise the pro- posed €200 million development of the former White Rocks Complex into a sports village have reportedly come to a standstill, with investors claiming that the "problem lies with govern- ment" while they are ready to take their plans to the planning authority. Contacted in the UK, Don Brister, a direc- tor and shareholder within the White Rocks Holding Company, said: "We honestly don't know what is holding government on this, we are very keen to go ahead with the project, but something internal within government seems to be stalling all progress." Brister, who is often engaged in talks with government over the project could not specify the "internal problem" but said that government had already been presented with the proof of financing one year ago, and that a lot of work had been done in the UK with regards to designs, to the extent that "the consortium is ready to go to MEPA." The ambitious project was launched in June last year by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and went on record to say that ne- gotiations were to be concluded by the end of 2010, and that government would "not be spending a cent" on the project, which is estimated to create 800 new jobs. The brief was issued by the Malta Environ- ment and Planning Authority (MEPA) in 1995 and is still in force to this day, and is being indicated as the main stumbling block faced by government to conclude the negotiations. But six months over the Prime Minister's projected deadline to conclude the negotia- tions, the UK consortium that is fronting the project says that there is no problem from their end, and that the issue is "purely gov- ernmental." The White Rocks Holding Company, which is registered in Ta' Xbiex, has been described as the "special purpose vehicle" incorporated to design, construct and operate the White Rocks Sports & Leisure Village, alongside its financing partner, Resolution Property plc, a major UK real estate fund. ... Quote of the Week "We have to decide whether everything else should be sacrificed for this sector… we have to ask ourselves whether we should continue to regulate this sector." Finance minister Clyde Caruana on Xtra speaks about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, following the FATF's decision to greylist Malta MaltaToday 10 years ago