October ‘unrealistic’ target for Malta to get off grey list, Finance Minister says

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana communicates with foreign counterparts to understand better what their expectations are after FATF grey-listing

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana exiting Castille after addressing a press conference with the Prime Minister on Wednesday following the FATF decision to grey-list Malta (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana exiting Castille after addressing a press conference with the Prime Minister on Wednesday following the FATF decision to grey-list Malta (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

It is “unrealistic” to expect Malta to be taken off the grey list in October when the Financial Action Task Force meets again, Clyde Caruana said.

The Finance Minister ruled out the option during a recorded debate with Opposition finance spokesperson Mario de Marco on TVM’s Xtra. The programme will air on Thursday night.

Malta became the first-ever EU member state to be put on the grey list of jurisdictions that require enhanced monitoring of their anti-money laundering regime. The decision was taken by the FATF in a closed session on Wednesday.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech described the decision as "collective punishment" and called for a national task force to implement the necessary changes so that Malta will be able to get off the grey list by October.

However, Caruana ruled out an early exit from the grey list. “October is an unrealistic target,” he said, hinting at continued dialogue with foreign partners throughout the summer months.

Caruana would not comment on the reasons for grey-listing until the FATF formally publishes its report but pointed out that Malta’s love affair with cryptocurrency and the lack of tangible results in the fight against financial crime as being primary causes.

“I know what [the report] will contain and have already sent out feelers to foreign counterparts to understand better what their expectations are and determine whether they are realistic or not and how they can be met,” he said.

The Finance Minister said the fact that Malta was deemed to be compliant by Moneyval, a Council of Europe body, last month was positive. “Introducing laws required time. For those laws to deliver results, it will take time. The final [FATF] report will show us where we need to place more emphasis,” he said.

Xtra is hosted by Saviour Balzan and will air on TVM at 9pm.