Anti-corruption activists in France and Malta have demanded a Moneyval investigation into the financial services watchdog’s role in the Pilatus Bank case.
Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s body tasked with monitoring anti-money laundering compliance, is expected to carry out an inspection on the island in the coming months.
Sherpa and II-Kenniesa have asked Moneyval to evaluate Malta taking into account what has been reported by slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the Forbidden Stories consortium.
The organisations stressed the importance of Moneyval’s role as a leading international partner in the global network of anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism evaluation bodies and as an associate member of the Financial Action Task Force.
The Malta Financial Services Authority is subject to a preliminary inquiry by the European Banking Authority into its oversight of Pilatus Bank. The EBA said earlier this week the government anti-money laundering agency breached EU rules when it failed to conduct “effective supervision” of the bank.
The MFSA announced on June 30 it had formally filed a recommendation with the European Central Bank for the withdrawal of Pilatus Bank’s operating licence.
Ms Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a powerful car bomb outside her home last October, had referred to links between Pilatus Bank and Maltese government officials. She had also reported on the existence of bank accounts opened by relatives of the Azeri regime.
Following her assassination, the investigative consortium Forbidden Stories launched the Daphne Project, which continues investigations she had been working on.
More than 60 accounts, holding the majority of the bank’s €250 million deposits, were opened for the benefit of the children of senior political figures in Azerbaijan by 2016, the Daphne Project found.
Assets connected to a network of companies include the five-star Sofitel Hotel and spa on Dubai’s palm island, two London townhouses with a combined worth of €18 million, a €26 million Spanish property portfolio and a €10 million investment in French factories making porcelain, bed linen and Smurf figurines.
The Daphne Project reported that Pilatus Bank would have served as a cover for the two most powerful families in Azerbaijan – the President’s and that of his Minister for Emergencies. All companies had accounts with Pilatus Bank.