Updated 10.05pm - Added FIAU statement
Jonathan Ferris showed up outside his former employer's office on Friday night, following rumours that IT technicians had been sent to the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.
Mr Ferris, who was sacked by the FIAU in June 2017 in what he alleges was an attempt to silence him, told journalists that he had come to the Unit's office in Birkirkara "to see what's going on."
"I heard, on Facebook, that they might be moving servers," Mr Ferris said. "These days, I don't trust anyone."
Journalists received a tip-off at around 7.30pm that IT technicians were at the FIAU's offices.
There, they found a policeman stationed outside the building, though the officer quickly retreated indoors as journalists arrived, as well as a parked van belonging to a leading local IT security firm.
Decision 'taken months ago' - FIAU
In a statement, the FIAU said that it was in the process of upgrading its servers in preparation for the implementation of two new IT systems - the Compliance Information System and Financial Analysis System (GO AML Software).
The decision to upgrade, the FIAU said, "was taken months ago" and involved the assistance of several technical experts.
The Unit said further details were available in its 2017 annual report. In the report, the FIAU had mentioned preparations for the revamped IT systems, adding:
"The GoAML application is a fully integrated software solution developed specifically for use by FIUs and is one of UNODC’s strategic responses to financial crime, including ML and FT."
A list of projects approved for 2014-2020 EU Internal Security Funds also includes a €350,000 IT upgrade for the FIAU to "implement an integrated software platform for managing compliance supervisory activities in Malta," with the project receiving €258,000 in EU funding.
The FIAU has made global headlines over the past few days, following revelations by the Daphne Project consortium concerning the Panama Papers-implicated Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and financial advisers Nexia BT.
Mr Ferris, who declined to speculate as to what was going on inside the FIAU's offices, told reporters that he was "hurt" by this week's revelations.
"I did my job, and they fired me," he said.