Updated at 4.20pm with government reaction

The Nationalist Party has called for a quick end to the Satabank saga before it causes negative implications on Malta.

Accounts at the bank have been frozen since October 20 after an inspection and audit by the MFSA and FIAU found shortcomings in the bank’s anti-money laundering procedures. 

The PN said the MFSA needed to communicate more effectively with clients. It observed that although the authority had said that it would start to allow withdrawals, as long as clients opened an account in another bank, clients were finding it difficult to open another account elsewhere. 

And those who already had another account were also still finding it difficult to access their funds at Satabank.

As a result, many companies and their clients had run into difficulty. Some foreign companies were also reportedly seeking alternative jurisdictions.  

The PN said that while serious due diligence was important, clients who always observed conditions should not pay the price for other people's actions.  

The authorities should, therefore, propose solutions for these people.

Stop attacking MFSA - government 

In a reaction, the parliamentary secretariat for financial services accused the PN of speaking with a forked tongue. 

"In the morning they accuse the MFSA of not doing anything to combat money laundering, and in the evening they attack it for taking necessary action," the secretariat, which is led by Silvio Schembri, said. 

"Opposition spokespersons should stop trying to undermine the regulator and allow it to work in peace," the statement continued, as it accused the PN of trying to use the financial services sector for partisan purposes.