Updated at 4.30pm

Opposition Leader Adrian Delia on Thursday accused the government of putting the financial services sector at risk and said both sides of the House should have the common aim of making Malta a “hub of excellence” for financial services.

Speaking in parliament, he said the government had compromised Malta’s reputation by accepting, and indeed wooing, any and all investment, no matter the source.

Instead of investigating entities using Malta to launder dirty money, such as Pilatus Bank, which, as revealed by proceedings against owner Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, had been started with “dirty capital,” these entities were being taken advantage of by those seeking to enrich themselves.

Dr Delia’s intervention came during the debate on a motion moved by the Opposition calling for the adoption of a list of recommendations made by the Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs Committee of the European Union (LIBE).

Among the 13 recommendations was a call for the European Central Bank to investigate whether Pilatus Bank merited its banking license, as well as a call for the European Commission to investigate whether Maltese authorities were faithfully implementing EU directives concerning money laundering and due diligence.

The report also called for an investigation into alleged vote-buying prior to the 2017 general election, through the engagement of workers in the public sector and the promotion of many army officers.

Opening for the Opposition, MP Simon Busuttil said the fact it was the Opposition which had requested the debate, on the basis of a LIBE report issued in January, already spoke volumes.

The government had chosen to bury its head in the sand, condemning those who chose to reveal illegalities rather than those committing them- Simon Busuttil

The government had chosen to bury its head in the sand, condemning those who chose to reveal illegalities rather than those committing them.

Dr Busuttil said that the recommendations made by LIBE fell into two broad categories: recommendations calling for justice to be upheld, especially with respect to Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief-of-staff Keith Schembri, and for institutional failings to be addressed.

Pointing out that there had been no word on the progress of police investigations, if any, into the leaked FIAU reports, he called upon government MPs to pursue the national interest, even though the Prime Minister lacked “the moral and political authority” to remove Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici replied that the national interest was not upheld by those performing “condemnable actions.”

The fabric of Maltese society and law had been scrutinized by the EU prior to Malta’s accession, and found to be satisfactory.

The Labour Party, he added, had continued to build upon the Nationalist administration’s work by giving a new impetus to the country's attempts to address shortcomings which had been identified during the accession process.

Reforms enacted included the scrutiny of regulatory authority chairmen and of the judiciary, the removal of criminal libel, and the enactment of party financing legislation.

Dr Bonnici cautioned the Opposition to be careful of how it chose to use its constitutional rights.

Referring to various FIAU reports, he said these reports “would never have been drawn up had the unit not been functioning.” 

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna argued that the Opposition was using a European Parliament mission report, which it had influenced, in order to pass judgement on Malta and to claim that Malta was not compliant with EU directives.

In this, the MEPs who visited Malta were acting as “judge, jury, and executioner.” Nonetheless, the recommendations merited discussion out of respect for the European Parliament and its members.

Prof. Scicluna pointed out that the MFSA board which had granted Pilatus Bank its banking licence was the same board appointed during the last PN administration.

Calls for Malta's standards of due diligence to be investigated had focused solely on Pilatus Bank, with no mention made of other entities, like Medea Bank, which had also been implicated in money laundering scandals.

Other speakers included Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina, who said the owner of Pilatus Bank had also set up a company in Malta to involve itself in social housing (see separate report).

PD objects to clause

Partit Demokratiku said in a reaction that the call for the EU to effectively take over the overseeing of financial affairs and governance was wrong because "Malta has the capacity and talent to self-govern effectively, according to the needs of our society and economy".

"Our country should not need the EU Commission or the European Parliament Committee to enforce our laws. Partit Demokratiku suggests that we (Maltese) institute all the necessary checks and balances and reforms which will make such supervision unnecessary in the first place.

"It is only a result of the loss of our reputation on the European forum that we are even in a position where this is being envisaged. Indeed, should such a system be put in place, it would be hard to go back and restore control," it said, adding that "the inertia and apparent helplessness of our prime minister to take action in the face of so many violations of the rule of law do not encourage our European partners to have confidence in our ability to keep our house in order".

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