Prime Minister Robert Abela’s way of leading as if everything is “business as usual” is not working, Opposition and PN leader Bernard Grech said.

On Thursday, Malta was placed on the high-risk list in the UK for money laundering and terrorist financing. This comes after the country faced a blow to its reputation when the Financial Action Task Force placed the country into the grey list for similar reasons.

Speaking about the latest development, Grech said a number of companies “are considering shifting their investment away from Malta”.

The Opposition Leader said that he hates seeing the country in this position. “I don't want to see the name of a country tarnished by all this, because we all deserve so much better,” he said.

Grech reiterated his promise that a PN government would put Malta back on the White list “within three months.”

“The Maltese people cannot be the victim of the arrogance and superstition of a Prime Minister who only wants to act on his own. Whoever broke it cannot fix it and therefore I promise again that a government led by me will put Malta back on the white List within three months,” Grech remarked.

He said that he is open to welcome anyone who wants to help amend the situation and appealed for anyone interested to join the party. “I invite you again to join the Nationalist Party which is once again becoming the natural home and the voice of the many who want to raise the name of our country as we all believe in each other because we have confidence in Malta,” he said.

The other countries currently on the same UK list are: Albania, Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Jamaica, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua,  Pakistan, Panama,  Senegal,  Syria, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.