Education Minister Evarist Bartolo has broadened his attacks on the chairman of the Malta Financial Services Authority, Joe Bannister, also raising questions on the way the authority is operating.
He started his fresh wave of attacks two weeks ago in Parliament, saying that Prof Bannister, despite being the financial services regulator, was also involved in a company in the Cayman Islands. Similar criticism had been made by Mr Bartolo five years ago.
In a new post on Facebook, Mr Bartolo noted that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had called his criticism 'disgraceful'.
MFSA chairman Joe Bannister. Photo: Matthew MirabelliHe then went on to list what, he said, was really harming Malta's financial services industry:
"(1) An MFSA Chairman tainted with having a big deposit with a bank given a licence to operate from Malta at a time when Ministers from European countries were warning the MFSA and CBM against the people involved in that licence application.
"(2) Licensed intermediaries who do not explain properly and carefully to their clients what is the real nature of the investments that they would be selling to them.
"(3) An MFSA which continues to refuse to reorganise itself in a manner that ensures much more than its current rate (less than 10 per cent) of on-site visits and inspections to licensed operators to really see what they are doing.
An MFSA which continues to refuse to reorganise itself in a manner that ensures much more than its current rate (less than 10 per cent) of on-site visits and inspections to licensed operators to really see what they are doing- Evarist Bartolo
"(4) An MFSA Chairman with directorships and investments in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands.
"(5) An MFSA which spends important monies on the architectural redoing of San Anton Palace without prior approval of the Minister of Finance.
"(6) Banks which are brought to Malta and try to impose locally their foreign operating model completely oblivious of what is the de facto personal finance culture of Maltese citizens.
"(7) Previous MFSA board members who government had decided to remove who still end up earning from the MFSA as consultants more than they previously earned as directors.
"(8) A whole list of consultants chosen by the Chairman of the MFSA, paid big fees, but who never ever meet with, or report to the Board, on what they are being paid for."