The Malta Independent editorial on Sunday 12 August made wrong assumptions and futile arguments without basing itself on basic fact-checking.
The regulation of the financial services sector has been under the Parliamentary Secretariat in the Office of the Prime Minister since the first day of this legislature. This can be confirmed in a circular issued by OPM on 19 June 2017.
On the other hand, the Ministry for Finance is working on policy areas with regards to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing as well as making sure of the effective implementation of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
This way policy-making is separate from regulatory bodies and can act as more effective check and balances.
The fact that the notice on the Government Gazette only appeared recently is only because of normal administrative procedures. A very simple query would have helped the accuracy of your leading opinion.
Paul Azzopardi
Director, Department of Information