Reading what Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said earlier this week reminded me of something I read some years back: “Governments don’t lie. People lie. And if you want the real story, you need to find out more about those people.”

Scicluna was giving his reaction to the long list of reports that heavily criticised him and his government’s handling of our financial services sector. These reports were published by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, Transparency International, Expat Insider and the Economist.

The common thread between these reports is that corruption in Malta is institutionalised with our state institutions failing to fight corruption. There are so many parts one can quote from these reports.

The IMF underlined the need for authorities to take rapid actions to ensure the long-term financial and operational independence of supervisory authorities. This is not currently the case.

In its 2019 Malta Country Report the IMF states that “…the Office of the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation (under the Prime Minister’s office) is required to approve (the MFSA’s) recruitments on a case-by-case basis”.

We have seen this happen from the Army to the Police Corp. From the Public Service to the Planning Authority. This country’s administration is painted red. Nothing happens in Malta’s public sector unless it is willed by the Office of the Prime Minister, and that includes police investigations.

Yet Scicluna tried to put the blame of these reports on the three Nationalist members of the European Parliament. 

Perhaps the minister needs to be reminded of some facts. When the Panama Papers debacle emerged, Scicluna initially came out, even if feebly, against Minister Konrad Mizzi and chief of staff Keith Schembri. But only briefly. Soon he abandoned all efforts to protect the interests of the financial services sector and chose instead to protect his government colleagues.

Scicluna voted in Parliament to defeat a motion of no confidence in Mizzi.

Scicluna is the minister under whose responsibility Pilatus Bank was licensed. Under Scicluna’s watch, Pilatus Bank and Satabank were allowed to operate without due supervision.

Did Scicluna protect the MFSA and FIAU, which fall under his political responsibility? Did he ensure that they operated freely without undue interference? No he did not.

Scicluna was the minister responsible for the FIAU when Jonathan Ferris was sacked for doing his job – that of investigating properly, effectively and objectively. Scicluna was the minister responsible for the FIAU when its director Manfred Galdes resigned, undoubtedly at the sheer frustration of seeing his unit’s work fall on deaf ears.

It is too much to expect any government minister to shoulder political responsibility?

Not coincidentally, that very same week Commissioner of Police Michael Cassar resigned – within hours of receiving an FIAU report on suspected cases of money laundering involving the highest of government officials. Scicluna cannot feign ignorance, even if this is no excuse. Among his Cabinet colleagues, Scicluna is perhaps the best prepared academically and professionally to understand what was going on. He closed both his eyes and ears and allowed gross irregularities and, possibly, criminal activity to go unpunished.

Eventually, things came to head – with no thanks to Scicluna. The owner of Pilatus Bank was arrested in the US and charged with crimes that include money laundering.

The MFSA was forced into taking action that it should have taken years before and moved to close down Pilatus Bank.

Following the embarrassment of Pilatus Bank, the MFSA had to act on Satabank where it emerged that the bank was breaching anti-money laundering regulations.

Scicluna should have shouldered political responsibility for having allowed these things to happen under his watch. Instead he is trying to shift the blame for the weak handling of his ministerial portfolio unto others.

I have spoken to people whose livelihood depends on our financial services sector. They are worried not so much with what has passed. They are worried about the future. These reports carry weight. They will not go unnoticed.

The reputation, which we have so painstakingly built over decades, now is all but destroyed. Anton Borg, as president of the Chamber of Commerce, had voiced his opinion on this matter: “Clearly, Malta’s reputation has suffered as could our future economic success if there are any repercussions on our financial services and remote gaming sectors that collectively contribute to around one quarter of our annual GDP.”

A few months back, Scicluna said that he was surprised that a taxi driver in South America linked Malta to corruption.

He is now saying that corruption is common knowledge in Malta. He is also the minister who first said that the Panama Papers are history only to deny ever saying that a few hours later.

It is too much to expect any government minister to shoulder political responsibility?

Our government ministers have become untouchables. The question voters need to ask themselves is whether in creating these gods, they have rendered themselves the animals in the equation?

Mario de Marco is a Nationalist Party MP.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece