[WATCH] Scicluna dismisses call for FIAU to publish Panama report

Finance minister Edward Scicluna dismissed suggestions that the Financial Investigation and Analysis Unit (FIAU) should publish the findings of its investigation into the Panama Papers.

Responding to questions by MaltaToday at a press conference, Scicluna said that the law prohibits the FIAU from publishing its findings and that the prohibition is based off EU legislation.

“The practice is the same for all FIAUs in Europe, so should the FIAU in Malta be allowed to publish their reports when the others in Europe cannot?” he said.

In April 2016, at the height of the media frenzy on the Prime Minister’s chief of Staff Keith Schembri’s and energy minister Konrad Mizzi’s involvement in the Panama Papers leaks, Scicluna had confirmed in parliament that the FIAU was investigating the matter.

Unconfirmed reports stated that it had handed the confidential report into the matter to the police.

The Opposition raised suspicions of the report’s contents when FIAU director  Manfred Galdes and police commissioner Michael Cassar resigned, shortly after each other.

Scicluna urged the FIAU to be more vociferous in clarifying “certain misunderstandings” about them.

“I personally wish that they clarifies certain misunderstandings. I’m not saying that they should provide details of specific cases, as the law forbids them from doing so, but I expect them to clarify certain untrue statements made about them. I think it’s their duty to do so, but I won’t tell them what to respond to and what not to respond to as I have no control over the FIAU.”

Scicluna also said he was unaware that the FIAU had reportedly flagged shortcomings at Pilatus Bank to the Malta Financial Services Authority.

The Times of Malta reported that the FIAU had found “serious customer due diligence failures” in the way Pilatus deals with politically exposed people following a two-week on-site inspection at the bank.

“I don’t have access that information,” he said, when asked about that report.

However, he played down concerns that the MFSA turned a blind eye to the report and noted that Malta forms part of the EU banking union.

“Malta forms part of the EU banking union which has a single supervisor, to whom one can report if they suspect Malta is giving license to banks that don’t deserve them.” 

Scicluna was addressing a joint press conference at the finance ministry with economy minister Chris Cardona held to announce the implementation of a Budget measure that will, until next year, allow family businesses to transfer ownership to the next generation with a stamp duty tax of 1.5% instead of at the regular 5%.