Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/503337
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 APRIL 2015 8 News Muscat calls for 'new rules' at global level to tackle migration 'The world order changed fast to save banks … It should change faster for human beings' – Joseph Muscat MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat called for new rules at a global level to deal with migration. In a keynote speech at the Niza- mi Ganjavi International Centre in Baku during the third Global Shared-Societies Forum, Muscat said that the world had changed fast to save banks, and "it should change faster for human beings". "The United States and Austral- ia have their own ways of manag- ing this phenomenon when faced mostly with economic migrants. Europe is in a rut, torn between rescuing people and security con- cerns," the PM said. Recalling the burial in Malta of the 24 migrants who died in the Mediterranean, with 750 other persons who also perished and whose bodies were not found, Muscat reiterated the need to go after the criminal network "mak- ing millions out of the modern slave trade". Muscat said that while the in- ternational community needed to help stabilise those countries providing fertile grounds for traf- fickers, the reality is that the mi- gratory trends and proportions in the age of the social media are un- precedented and have been so for quite some time. "The global community is treat- ing this challenge as though it is the same as that which we expe- rienced during the past century. We are tackling an evolved phe- nomenon with outdated rules that might still be legal but have become anachronistic or plain ir- relevant," he said. Muscat said there was an obvi- ous need for the global commu- nity to come to terms with this new reality that will continue morphing. "Yes, the long term solutions are peace, stability and economic development. But then again, in the long term we are all dead. The current migrant trag- edy in the Mediterranean and elsewhere is a man-made event, and needs immediate action. The current rules of addressing it are, as we said, inadequate." Muscat said that while Europe will take action against traffickers, the problem will persist so long as there is war and instability. "Isn't it obvious that people will f lee from wars? The dead in the latest tragedy reminded me of the now iconic picture of a man jumping from the Twin Towers on 11 September, 2001. He made a choice that he would probably have a better possibility at sur- viving by jumping from that un- mentionable height, than he had by staying in the unbearable heat that developed from the explo- sions." Former GlobalCapital chairman ready to face French court Dawood Rawat, accused in Mauritius of running Ponzi scheme, says he will answer to accusations in French court MATTHEW VELLA ONE of the lawyers of former Global- Capital plc chairman Dawood Rawat has announced that his client is ready to appear in court in France to an- swer to the queries of the Mauritian authorities, of allegedly running a Ponzi scheme. Shakeel Mohamed said Dawood Rawat had expressed his wish for transparency over the accusations, and had written a letter to the Mau- ritian director of public prosecution informing him of his intentions. Mohamed said that Rawat could not make the journey back to Mauritius for health reasons, and that he was currently under treatment in Europe. The lawyer argued that no incrimi- nating evidence as to the alleged Ponzi scheme had been provided. "The accusations against my client are baseless." Rawat could be issued with an in- ternational arrest warrant on sus- picions of money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement of funds, for di- verting the investments of his clients by illegally transferring the funds to other countries. The Central Criminal Investiga- tion Division of Mauritius said it would file for a court order to obtain a "full disclosure" of the personal bank accounts of Dawood Rawat, as well as those of his partners and fam- ily members who are part of the ex- ecutive committee of the subsidiary groups of the BAI. Rawat resigned the GlobalCapi- tal plc chairmanship after one of its main shareholders, BAI Co. Ltd of Mauritius, had to go under the stew- ardship of a conservator, ordered by the financial services commission of Mauritius. BAI Co. Ltd holds 48.45% of the or- dinary shares of GlobalCapitaL. BAI's owners, the Bramer Bank- ing Corporation (BBCL), had its li- cence revoked over suspicions that it was engaged in a $690 million Ponzi scheme. BBCL is a subsidiary of Brit- ish American Investment Co (Mauri- tius) Ltd through BAI Co (Mauritius) Ltd. Supporters of Rawat believe Mau- ritian prime minister Anerood Jug- nauth "is moving ruthlessly to take over private-sector institutions op- posed to his crony politics, and has ordered his secret police to harass prominent members of minorities such as Muslims. One such Muslim is Dawood A. Rawat, chairman of the British American Group (BAI)." FirstPost.com claimed that the gov- ernment had "rather loudly generated a whispering campaign." But Bramer's 30,000 deposit ac- counts have now been taken over by State Bank of Mauritius. GlobalCapital has said its business and operation were totally separate and distinct from those of any of its shareholders, including BAI, and that the appointment of conservators of BAI did not relate to the business, operations or assets of the Global- Capital Group. Joseph R. Aquilina was ap- pointed interim chairman of GlobalCapital. Senior Google analyst hails 'forward- looking' Malta ENRICO Bellini, a senior public policy analyst at Google, praised Malta as "a very promising coun- try to do business in" and "one of the more forward-looking coun- tries" that he has seen. A Google team is currently in Malta to promote their Google Cloud software to local business- es, particularly those involved in the igaming and banking sectors. "The entire economy should be digital-based," Bellini said at the end of a conference to promote the product. "We want to strengthen our relationships with countries that also believe this." In a brief speech, Economy Min- ister Chris Cardona noted that this is Google's first visit to Malta to venture into the local market. "Google's interest bodes well for the future, with regard to in- vestment in education and the creation of high quality jobs," Cardona said. "The government has tried to convince Google that they will benefit from doing busi- ness in Malta and now the ball is in their court." YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Dawood Rawat Enrico Bellini