The European Parliament’s financial crimes committee on Wednesday voted to back calls for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to cooperate with Maltese authorities over the 17 Black probe.
Police sources had previously told Times of Malta that they would only extend their investigation into the activities of Dubai-based company 17 Black if the UAE confirmed that the company is owned by power station investor Yorgen Fenech.
MEP David Casa said the EP committee demanded that the UAE ensured that funds frozen in 17 Black’s bank accounts remained frozen, and highlighted the lack of independence of both the Maltese FIAU and police commissioner.
It noted that journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was working on the biggest data leak she had ever received at the time she was assassinated - documents from Electrogas - and that Mr Fenech was both a director and shareholder of ElectrogaS.
It also called for a joint investigation team to address serious doubts about the independence of any ongoing investigations on 17 Black, with the support of Europol and Eurojust.
Mr Casa said it was of great concern that there had been reports of lack of progress on requests for information from the authorities in the UAE.
Serious questions have been raised as to how actively Maltese authorities are pursuing the transfer of evidence that would implicate people at the highest levels of government in corruption and money laundering.”
The committee, he said, also called on national governments to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation to protect journalists and for concrete action to also be taken at the EU level.
The vote in the European Parliament’s Tax3 committee comes on the back of a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina revealing this week that two judicial letters seeking assistance had been sent to the UAE by Maltese authorities.
Both letters, sent in 2018 and 2019, did not result in any cooperation from the UAE.
According to the 50 pages published from the Egrant inquiry in 2018, attempts by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja to discover if the mystery Panama company held bank accounts in the UAE were rebuffed by the authorities there.
Similar requests for information about the Panama companies owned by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi were also not answered by the UAE.
Intelligence linking Mr Fenech to 17 Black was sent by the FIAU to the police last spring but the intelligence cannot be used for prosecution purposes.
Serious doubts about the quality of ongoing investigations
A leaked e-mail sent by Mr Schembri’s and Dr Mizzi’s financial advisers Nexia BT said the two men’s Panama companies were expected to receive up to $2 million from 17 Black.
Mr Fenech has not denied owning 17 Black, though he vehemently negates any plans to transfer money to Panama companies owned by Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri.
Read: Casa wants Dubai bank to disclose information on 17 Black
17 Black’s Noor bank account in Dubai was frozen in September after the company’s activities attracted the authorities’ attention.
The committee's also dealt with issues of taxation that a number of member states, including Malta, strongly oppose.
“I submitted amendments to any such provisions in the drafting phase of this report and strongly opposed any clauses that could have had a negative impact on Malta’s taxation system in the vote today. I have always vociferously defended Malta’s taxation system and will always continue to do so,” Mr Casa said.
Calls for golden visas to be abolished
The report also called for golden visa schemes to be abolished, and for the fight against money laundering to be stepped up, increased collaboration to fight tax avoidance and tax fraud and an update of tax regimes to the age of digitalisation.
Co-rapporteur Luděk Niedermayer said the golden visa and special tax schemes to attract foreign investors posed a security threat to the EU while delivering only marginal or zero economic benefits and devaluating European citizenship.
Watch: Justice Minister Bonnici hits back at critics in EP committee appearance