Finance Minister Edward Scicluna today said the government is stepping up its efforts to combat money laundering through various amendments put forward in Parliament through the Money Laundering Bill.

“In order for Malta to maintain its reputation and hence its competitiveness in the financial and economic sectors it has to update its laws and regulations in order to keep afar from criminality both locally and internationally.

"Proposed amendments to the Money Laundering Bill will allow the government to better combat money laundering that finances terrorism and criminality,” Professor Scicluna said.

He said the proposed amendments are in line with measures being taken by international organisations that are continually improving their systems and structures in order to combat criminality.

Previously the main focus of the international community was to fight money laundering stemming from drug sales. The concept is now being taken further to incorporate funds originating from all sorts of crimes, he said. 

“By making it harder for criminals to benefit from the proceeds of crime, criminals will find it less and less advantageous to commit certain crimes, particularly organised ones."

It is vital that certain shortcomings identified by the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (“MONEYVAL”) be addressed, he said.

The government is undertaking various measures in order for the recommendations identified by MONEYVAL to be implemented.

These include strengthening regulatory bodies like the Malta Financial Services Association and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.

The government is proposing amendments through the Money Laundering Bill in order to continue the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, together with the aforementioned MONEYVAL recommendations, Professor Scicluna said.

By virtue of the amendments in this Bill, the proposed measures to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as the applicable penalties for the lack of implementation of these measures are being strengthened, he said.

These measures should allow for greater surveillance of suspects and more of these suspects being investigated by the police.

The Bill will tighten up the definition of ‘financing terrorism.’

It will clarify the fact that financing terrorism or terrorist groups either directly or indirectly will both be considered as financing terrorism under the Bill.

Any fundraising for terrorists or terrorists groups will be covered by the Bill and will thus be considered as financing terrorism.