The courts have ‘only’ managed to seize €191,700 worth of ill-gotten criminal assets over the past four years, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.

Police sources said the figure was extremely low, and in part reflected the lack of prosecutions for money laundering, a criminal offence which carries a maximum 18-year jail term.

A 2017 study for the European Parliament’s Pana committee quoted studies showing how Malta faces an €8 billion money laundering risk.

Confiscation and recovery of proceeds from crime is seen as vital by the European Union, because it serves as a deterrent by depriving criminals of their assets. A spokesman for the courts explained the criminal assets which had been traced and recovered over the past four years consisted of money, vehicles and boats. Vehicles were either handed over to the police or sold tale quale or for scrap.

Confiscation and recovery of proceeds from crime is seen as vital by the European Union, because it serves as a deterrent by depriving criminals of their assets

Three boats have also been sold over the past four years, the spokesman said.

Replying to questions by this paper, a Justice Ministry spokesman said the proceeds of criminal offences had been subject to “many” confiscations made by the courts over the years, in a system administered by the courts themselves.

Prior to 2014, no specific information on criminal asset recovery exists as all amounts forfeited to the courts, be it bail money, customs seizures or criminals assets, were included under one account and one heading. In 2015, a separate unit from the courts was set up in order to trace and recover criminal proceeds. This unit sat in limbo for close to two years, with a permanent board only being appointed to it earlier this year.

The Justice Ministry spokesman said the government was committed to improving the structures for the tracing and recovery of the proceeds of crime, and would be providing the necessary resources to meet the challenge. The spokesman said in some cases, asset recovery presented particular challenges which called for sophisticated forensic skills.

The government’s anti-money laundering agency (FIAU) is referring an ever greater number of cases to the police for investigations. According to its 2016 annual report, the agency referred 39 cases to the police, almost double the 20 cases referred in 2015.

A police source told this paper that the unit tasked with anti-money laundering operations was understaffed and in need of more training.

Malta has yet to implement the EU’s latest anti-money laundering rules.

The deadline for implementation was June 26.

jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.