MEP Sven Giegold accused Finance Minister Edward Scicluna of trying to find scapegoats when asking whether reports by the government’s anti-money laundering agency had been written to be leaked.
Mr Giegold, the European Green’s spokesman on financial affairs, told the Times of Malta Prof. Scicluna’s remarks were beside the point. He said the priority was to investigate whether the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit’s findings could be substantiated or not.
“If they are substantiated, then prosecution should follow. If they are not, then, of course, consequences should follow as well”, Mr Giegold said.
He insisted the minister seemed to be more interested in finding scapegoats than doing his job, adding that Malta’s reputation was at stake given the revelations made.
If they are substantiated, then prosecution should follow
When referring to Prof. Scicluna’s accusations that Germany was bullying Malta because it was a small country, Mr Giegold said he did not like making distinctions based on nationality. He said German journalists, who had been critical of Malta’s tax regime also hit out at what was happening in their own country.
He said that, as far as he was concerned, when dealing with financial crime there were “no borders, only criminals. I am known in Germany as being very tough when it comes to these matters”.
He said Prof. Scicluna’s construction of Germany versus the Maltese was meant to avoid talking about the substance of the matter at hand. The European Parliament’s Panama Papers Committee chairman, Werner Langen, also dismissed claims that Malta was being bullied.
He expressed his surprise that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had re-appointed both Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri upon his re-election.
The German MEP, who last week vowed not to let Dr Muscat get off “scot-free”, said he did not believe Dr Mizzi’s financial set up was aimed at handling family money.
“It looks like money laundering. It is not normal to have a minister receiving €50,000-€60,000 per year with a shell company set up for $1 million,” Mr Langen said.
He said the main problem in Malta was that the authorities were intertwined with the government.
If the Maltese government continued to be uncooperative with the Pana Committee, other avenues of piling pressure on the government would be explored, Mr Langen warned.