Opposition leader Adrian Delia on Sunday demanded the immediate resignation of Finance Minister Edward Scicluna over the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) findings about the FIAU.
In a report published this week, the EBA said the FIAU had breached the EU’s anti-money laundering directive by failing to effectively monitor or subsequently sanction Pilatus Bank .
Speaking during a telephone interview on Net FM, Dr Delia said the EBA’s findings continued to damage Malta’s reputation.
He said the PN and the media had long highlighted deficiencies at Pilatus Bank, yet the government had failed to take action.
If the Finance Minister failed to resign over the EBA’s findings, it would then mean that the Prime Minister had to shoulder ultimate responsibility, Dr Delia said.
Dr Delia said it was clear that Pilatus Bank should have never been given a license.
The MFSA is still subject to a preliminary enquiry over its handling of Pilatus Bank.
Dr Delia said the FIAU was now functioning as the “hidden hand” of the government. Instead of safeguarding the law, the FIAU was now breaking it, he added.
“In a normal country, someone would be held responsible for this”, he said.
Dr Delia said that while the top banking authority within the EU had weighed in on the matter, the government and FIAU had remained silent.
In a statement last week, the FIAU said it had “serious reservations” about the process carried out by the EBA.
Dr Delia said the government’s silence on the matter was an admission of guilt.
He questioned whether certain people close to the Prime Minister were untouchables who could not been removed.
The Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri has admitted to having an account at Pilatus Bank. Both men travelled to Italy for the marriage of Pilatus Bank’s owner Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad.
Mr Hasheminejad was arrested and charged with money-laundering and sanction-busting offences earlier this year.
A leaked report by the FIAU highlighted Mr Schembri as being a close associate of Mr Hasheminejad.