FIAU demands action against David Casa following publication of leaked report

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has demanded that action be taken against Nationalist Party MEP David Casa after the publication of secret FIAU information.

“Mr Casa’s position as an MEP does not place him above the law and the FIAU will demand that action be taken,” the FIAU said in a statement, adding that past statements by case indicated that he knew the identity of the “perpetrator”.  

It said that Casa had therefore not only handed stolen sensitive information, but appears to also be protecting people “who have carried out criminal acts and is using information which he FIAU has obtained for his own political mileage”.

“The FIAU believes that the publication of the said document exposes Mr Casa as a possible accomplice in the leaking of information from FIAU in violation of the law and in the handling of stolen property.”

Earlier today Casa said he was publishing the report for the public to know what the Prime Minister was trying to keep secret.

“With reference to the latest developments and to the fact that Konrad Mizzi has attempted to use 3% of a published inquiry to absolve himself of wrongdoing, I feel it is my duty to publish the FIAU report in full. This in order for the Maltese public to know what Joseph Muscat has been trying to keep secret for the past year,” Casa wrote on Facebook.

READ ALSO: David Casa publishes leaked FIAU report on Konrad Mizzi

Last February Casa had taken the leaked report to an inquiring magistrate, insisting that the report, which focused exclusively on Mizzi's activities, showed how he worked hand-in-hand with the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri to open companies to "hide money coming from illegal activity".

At a press conference announcing his intention to take the report to the magistrate, Casa had refused to make the report published as he had promised, insisting he would allow the magistrate to conduct his own investigation before doing so. 

Document re-typed and modified

The FIAU said that the document “irresponsibly and abusively” published on the European People’s Party website was still a work in progress, noting that it had stated this on a number of past occasions.

“The FIAU has repeatedly confirmed that this document contains intelligence and other sensitive information which, at the time it was illegally leaked from the FIAU, was still work in progress.”

Furthermore, it said that for reasons known to Casa, the document was re-typed, with the FIAU noting “several discrepancies, omissions and inaccurate reproductions of text”. 

“The document published by Mr Casa is therefore not an FIAU report and nor is it a faithful reproduction of any FIAU document,” the FIAU said.

Nonetheless, it said Casa had chosen to make public secret FIAU information which he has obtained illegally.  “The FIAU deplores Mr Casa’s actions as these first of all place the safety of a number of FIAU officials at serious risk.”

Furthermore, it said the document’s publication also prejudices the FIAU’s ability to obtain and exchange intelligence from its international counterparts, undermines the work carried out by the FIAU, and hinders any possible ongoing police investigations.

The publication of leaked information, the FIAU said, also affects it’s credibility and the trust that entities that are obliged to submit suspicious transaction reports have in the Unit.

The FIAU said that Casa’s deliberate act of publishing a document which is based on intelligenceobtained by the FIAU, will inevitably cause irreparable damage to the Unit “which now finds itself in possible serious breach of its international obligations vis-a-vis counterpart FIUs that have provided intelligence, and also of its obligations towards the Egmont Group of FIUs”.