The US Embassy will continue to assist local partners in building Malta’s capacity to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes, an embassy spokesperson told this newsroom

This newsroom contacted the embassy after the Maltese government said that United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried expressed her appreciation at the efforts of the Maltese Government on the implementation of the action plan of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Maltese government said that in a phone call with Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo, Donfried lauded government’s strengthening of good governance in the areas of democracy, the judiciary, finance and freedom of the press.

This newsroom asked the embassy whether the US government is satisfied with Malta’s progress on the implementation of the FATF recommendations and if it believes Malta is ready to get off the grey list now or if more work is still needed by the Maltese institutions. It was also asked about the impact of greylisting on the country’s image in the eyes of the US government and on investment from US companies in Malta.

“The FATF is an international technical body that makes decisions based on objective criteria.  For a country to get off the grey list, it needs a sustainable national plan articulating substantive reforms and must follow through on that plan with concrete actions. We welcome Malta’s high-level political commitment to work with the FATF to accomplish the goals of its Action Plan. The US embassy will continue to assist local partners in building Malta’s capacity to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing regimes,” the US Embassy spokesperson said.

“Trade and investment between the United States and Malta have long been vital components of our strong bilateral relationship. This trend will continue. The telephone conversation between Malta’s Foreign Minister and the US Department of State’s Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs highlights the strong ties between the United States and Malta and our commitment to working together on social, economic and security challenges.”