‘Wall Street Journal article has harmed BOV’ – Finance Minister

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has hit out at an article published last month in the Wall Street Journal, saying that it has caused “a certain degree of damage” to Bank of Valletta.

The WSJ article reported that the Libyan government had commenced legal proceedings against BOV over the latter’s refusal to hand over the money in the BOV account of Mutassim Gaddafi, the late son of the deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the WSJ, Gaddafi – killed during Libya’s 2011 revolution – deposited millions of dollars at BOV, which issued him with a credit card for his shopping binges in Rome, Beverly Hills and Cannes.

The WSJ claimed that in legal filings in Malta, representatives of the Libyan government said BOV should return tens of millions of dollars stolen from the state during Gaddafi’s reign.

“Libya accuses Bank of Valletta of ignoring fundamental rules designed to prevent Western banks from doing business with corrupt officials or facilitating money laundering,” the article reported. “The bank stood to profit from the relationship because his deposits were a cheap source of funding and his massive credit-card transactions generated fees.”

BOV has denied that the bank or any of its executives are under investigation for any wrongdoing related to Gaddafi’s accounts. They said that they apply strict due diligence on its customers and that Mutassim Gaddafi’s assets will remain frozen until international orders freezing Libyan assets are lifted.

“The Wall Street Journal is an influential newspaper and that article has negatively influenced investors and other banks, despite the false claims within it,” Scicluna said in Parliament during a discussion on the amendment of various financial services law. “Gaddafi’s assets have been frozen and we have nothing to be ashamed of. While it is the duty of the public and media to air criticism in a democracy, there is criticism and there is criticism that is intended to cause damage.”

Here, Scicluna accused the Opposition of speaking in favour of political consensus on financial stability in Parliament but attacking projects that are of highest economic priority to the government- such as the new power station, the Bart’s Medical School, and the ‘American University of Malta’.

“I am convinced that these projects will help us progress economically,” Scicluna said. “While we welcome reasoned discussion, nobody should put spokes in the wheel when it comes to the economy. These projects will give future generations the chance at a higher standard of living and the Labour Opposition had always supported projects under the previous Nationalist administrations that created wealth.”