Moneyval draft report presented to Malta and Council of Europe states

The Maltese government has received the conclusions from the Council of Europe’s Moneyval group to the draft Enhanced Follow-Up Report, a crucial document for the future of Malta’s banking and financial services industry.

The report has been passed on to other Council of Europe member states for their analysis.

“Government feels it is not prudent to comment on the details of this report,” a spokesperson said when asked about the Moneyval conclusions. “The conclusions are being evaluated by technical experts across various of the country’s institutions.”

The spokesperson said Malta’s institutional reforms and regulatory, supervisory and legal changes had earned the plaudits of various international institutions. “The Maltese government has shown its clear will to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, and to be considered as an idoneous jurisdiction that is fit for businesses.”

The government submitted its final report to Moneyval experts last October in a bid to avoid being grey-listed as a high-risk country for financial crime. 

Malta had initially failed a first assessment from Moneyval in 2019, after which the government was given a year to patch up any legislative gaps in terms of money laundering and terrorist-financing. 

The American government enjoys observer status in the Moneyval monitoring body, and on top of this retains clout inside the Financial Action Task Force, the international umbrella organisation against money laundering. Malta’s Moneyval assessment will be reviewed by this task force.

Prime Minister Robert Abela told industry leaders during an MCESD meeting in January 2021 that he was “convinced” Malta will pass the Moneyval test.

Abela confidently told MCESD that the work carried out over the past months in terms of good governance and financial crime will see Malta pass the evaluation.