PN says 24 companies have relinquished their licences over Malta greylisting

Around 24 companies have relinquished their licenses to operate in Malta since the island was greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force, Nationalist Party spokesperson Peter Agius said. 

The press conference was address by Agius, MP Kristy Debono and candidate Jerome Caruana Cilia. 

The party called on the government to communicate its plans to see Malta taken off the greylist. 

Debono said some companies who have given up their license had been operating in Malta for 15 years. 

The current situation has left the financial service industry at a crossroads, Debono said. 

“The government has not been convincing that it has a plan to get out of greylisting and if it does, it has not effectively communicated those plans,” she said. 

Debono said the lack of information on the road ahead is proving to be an obstacle for businesses planning their futures. 

“We don’t know what the plan is, and we don’t have a detailed timeline of when things need to be achieved,” she added. 

Debono also said that the government had not shown the will to hold responsible those whose actions had shredded Malta’s reputation internationally.  

Caruana Cilia added that the price for reputational damage was being paid by businesses that were being held down by complex due diligence procedures.