Malta’s tools to combat bribery and corruption in public institutions are neither blunt nor unused and investigators do not look at faces, as with the recent conviction of two judges, Attorney General Silvio Camilleri said this evening.

Addressing students participating in the NSTF Mini European Assembly, Dr Camilleri said Malta had prosecuted 23 people in 2006 in connection with this crime, which also includes the notion of trading in influence.

This number shot up to 453 the following year, due to several cases of corruption and abuse at the Malta Maritime Authority and the Malta Transport Authority. In 2008, the number of people charged with this crime decreased again to 15.

On corruption and bribery, which is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, Dr Camilleri said the tools Malta had to combat these were neither blunt nor unused.

In his speech, Dr Camilleri said Malta had implemented the majority of recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption – Greco.

Malta joined Greco in 2001 and has had three evaluation reports drawn up. The first one, in 2002, made 15 recommendations. 13 of these, Dr Camilleri said, have already been implemented while the remaining two are only partly implemented. Recommendations included in the October 2009 are yet to be implemented, he said.