FATF greylisting: Early election will not solve anything, Opposition leader says

Opposition leader Bernard Grech says country must unite to ensure Malta gets taken off the FATF grey list as soon as possible • Reiterates call for national task force

Opposition leader Bernard Grech
Opposition leader Bernard Grech

An early general election will do nothing to improve Malta’s reputation with the Financial Action Task Force and risks alienating the private sector, Bernard Grech said.

The Opposition leader said now was the moment for unity to get Malta off the grey list after FATF placed the country on enhanced monitoring for its anti-money laundering regime.

Grech said the Labour government was to blame for the country’s greylisting but insisted the time was not ripe for a general election when asked whether the Prime Minister should seek a fresh mandate.

“If an early election is called, politicians would focus on getting elected rather than ensuring we are taken off the grey list. This is the moment we must work together… an election will not solve the problem,” Grech said at a press conference on Thursday, 24 hours after Malta was placed on the FATF grey list.

Flanked by Opposition MPs Kristy Debono and Mario de Marco, Grech said the FATF outcome shows that “government’s rhetoric will not drown out the truth”.

He accused Abela of being in denial and government of trying to shift the blame on others.

“If it’s not the Gonzi administration, it’s Opposition MPs, if it’s not Opposition MPs, it’s other countries trying to collude against us,” he said.

Grech reiterated his party’s appeal for the creation of a national task force to work on getting off the grey list as quickly as possible, adding that the Opposition was willing to collaborate. “Now is the time we take politics seriously, for the sake of our country.”

Asked whether Central Bank Governor Edward Scicluna, who was finance minister until October last year, should resign his new post, and whether the Opposition would be putting forward a parliamentary motion of no confidence, Grech said he excluded nothing.

“Edward Scicluna is still under criminal investigation, and this is one of the reasons why other countries are scrutinizing us… When we put forward motions against other individuals in government, government MPs, including Robert Abela, always voted selfishly, and against Malta,” he said.

Reacting to comments by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana that it is “unrealistic” to expect Malta to be taken off the grey list in October when the Financial Action Task Force meets again, Grech said government was not even believing its own rhetoric.

“We have to do our best. If the Prime Minister and Clyde Caruana are already giving up, it shows they do not have the will or competence to do what is necessary,” he said.

READ ALSO: Chamber, bank employees’ union call for united front in bid to overturn FATF greylisting