The European Commission was taking action against Malta over alleged lax monitoring of money laundering while ignoring more serious allegations in larger EU member states, Labour MEP Alfred Sant has charged.
The former prime minister formally asked European Commissioner Vera Jourova to specify what actions the European Commission was taking, or preparing, on money-laundering activities in larger EU states like Estonia, The Netherlands and Latvia.
He also asked Commissioner Jourova to specify whether Estonian, Dutch and Latvian financial authorities involved in money-laundering activities were showing general and systemic shortcomings in the enforcement of anti-money laundering rules.
Dr Sant put the questions to Commissioner Jourova after she told The Financial Times that a “formal opinion” by the Commission would list the actions that Malta's FIAU must take to tighten up its money-laundering monitoring.
Dr Sant observed that nearly €178 billion were laundered through the activities of Danske Bank in Estonia between 2007 and 2015. This money mostly stemmed from the UK, the UK Virgin Islands and Russia.
An independent investigation team found that more than half of Danske’s 15,000 Estonian accounts were considered suspicious. These accounts notably featured doubtful non-residential transactions, operated by individuals not based in Estonia but using the bank's facilities in the country.
Dutch Bank ING had also admitted that criminals had used its accounts to launder money for years. The bank agreed to pay €775 million in a settlement, including €675 million as a fine and €100 million as the return of illicit gains. Financial prosecutors found that ING had violated, for years, laws to prevent money laundering by failing to properly vet account owners and by overlooking unusual transactions.
Latvian Bank ABLV had been implicated in money laundering, bribing officials and facilitating breaking of sanctions against North Korea. The United States Treasury's Financial Crimes Unit had notably accused ABLV of making money laundering a pillar of the bank’s business practices for a number of years. Representing the third largest bank in Latvia, it was recently liquidated following assertions of institutionalised money laundering.
Yet, Dr Sant told the EU Commissioner, Malta was the only country which the Commission had ordered to strengthen its anti-money laundering rules and to improve the functions of its financial intelligence unit.
"This is a clear case where a European Commissioner is taking to task the smallest EU member state on a relatively less important instance to show that she is somehow acting against money-laundering activities," Dr Sant said.
“Commissioner Jourova felt she should take action against Malta while ignoring more serious money-laundering allegations in larger EU member states which had occurred before her very eyes,” he remarked.