The Auditor General will be seeking legal advice on how to proceed on Alternattiva Demokratika’s request for his office to investigate the government amnesty scheme that enabled former PN minister Ninu Zammit to regularise undeclared cash he had held at HSBC Geneva.

AD chairman Arnold Cassola said that following reports that the former PN minister held US$3.2 million in Switzerland, the party had doubts on whether due diligence procedures implemented by the Central Bank were sufficient.

Those who registered their investments had to produce documentation on the origin of the funds to ensure income was not derived from illicit activities.

About 1,500 people used this scheme in 2014 and registered some €456 million, only a small percentage of which was repatriated.

“This is the fourth time such a scheme was implemented. We want to ensure that, if this is implemented again, the right procedures are in place,” Dr Cassola said.

Laws dictate company documentation should be kept for 10 years. Yet the source of these funds often dates back to a period long before that.

“Knowing it is difficult to procure documentation on the origin of funds, how did the Central Bank accept it?” asked AD deputy chairman Carmel Cacopardo.

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