Edward Scicluna has the dubious honour of being the first Minister of Finance in the European Union to be slapped with a formal opinion by the European Commission on money laundering, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.

This was confirmed by EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova who told The Financial Times that Brussels would be publishing a 'formal opinion' on action that must be taken by Malta after Malta's financial conduct regulator failed to address concerns raised by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in July.

The European Commission was clearly not impressed with the way that the Maltese authorities are fighting money laundering, the PN said. The authorities in question, particularly the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), fall or fell under the political responsibility of Minister Edward Scicluna. Despite the Minister's efforts to convince them otherwise, the European Union is going to proceed with its legal action against Malta in order to preserve the interests of the EU.

This is yet another confirmation of the abysmal record of Minister Edward Scicluna in protecting Malta's reputation and standing as a financial service centre of excellence. Under Minister Scicluna's watch:

·        the regulatory authorities lost their independence;

·        the authorities failed to take decisive action against Minister Konrad Mizzi and Mr Keith Schembri;

·        two FIAU investigating officers were summarily dismissed by FIAU with no reason given;

·        one of these officers, Mr. Jonathon Ferris, was actively investigating Pilatus Bank, the bank at the centre of most financial scandals;

·        the owner of Pilatus Bank is currently facing serious charges in the United States.

Minister Scicluna repeatedly failed to honour the pledge he took to serve the country above all. He chose to protect his cabinet colleagues rather than the interests of the country and sector he should serve, the PN said.

The statement was signed by Mario de Marco, Shadow Minister for Finance and Kristy Debono, Shadow Minister for the Economy, Financial Services and Innovation.