Earlier this month, Malta’s anti-money laundering regime has formally passed a review by Moneyval.
It is believed that the report lauds Malta on its efforts to address financial crime shortcomings. Malta still faces a final verdict by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June, to avoid being put on a financial grey-list. However, passing the Moneyval test would be a major step forward.
The Maltese government had received the conclusions from the Moneyval group to the draft Enhanced Follow-Up Report, a crucial document for the future of Malta’s banking and financial services industry.
Malta had initially failed a first assessment from Moneyval in 2019, after which the government was given a year to patch up any legislative gaps in terms of money laundering and terrorist-financing.
The financial services sector in Malta is in a crucial stage relating to the Moneyval assessment, with two or three months left of hard work to ensure Malta avoids being grey-listed.
Reforms within the police force over the past 12 months have seen the creation of a more robust financial crimes unit that has led to high profile prosecutions on money laundering and other financial crimes.
