Friday's official announcement that Malta has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list confirms that Malta is a 'serious and reputable' jurisdiction, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.

Abela spoke after a secret vote was taken at the FATF plenary meeting in Germany. The news of Malta making it off the list was leaked on Wednesday, but was made official on Friday. The FATF had placed Malta on the list of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring - known as the grey list -  in June 2021. The country had at the time agreed on an action plan to tackle the main points that were highlighted.

In its decision, the FATF, which is a global anti-money-laundering body, said that it "welcomes Malta's significant progress in improving its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. Malta has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime to meet the commitments in its action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in June 2021, which were related to the detection of inaccurate company ownership information and sanctions on gatekeepers who fail to obtain accurate beneficial ownership information, as well as the pursuit of tax-based money laundering cases utilising financial intelligence. Malta is therefore no longer subject to the FATF's increased monitoring process. Malta should continue to work with MONEYVAL to sustain its improvements in its AML/CFT system."

Addressing a press conference soon after the FATF announcement, Abela said that the country "worked hard and tirelessly" to address the action plan.

He said that Malta completed the action plan in 'record time'.

"Today Malta stands as an example to other jurisdictions," he said, while adding that Malta successfully implemented the plan while also maintaining strong economic growth and "achieving unprecedented levels of employment, including in the gaming and financial services sector."

The Prime Minister pledged that the country's efforts won't stop here. "I will be clear, never again should our country end up on a list like this," Abela said.

He mentioned how, when he became Prime Minister in 2020, he had found subsequent Moneyval reports that were negative, stating particularly that the 2018 one was "very negative." He said he gave clear direction for these reports to be addressed. "Certainly I gave a different direction than what I understand was given prior to 2013, when these reports were placed on a shelf."

He said that reforms in the country had started before June 2021, when the action plan was agreed upon with the FATF, and had even started in January 2020. Abela said that this proves that "these were reforms we truly believe in."

The Prime Minister said that the government will continue to nurture a culture change, "deliver on our commitments and sustain our momentum. We remain open to engage as necessary, should any issues arise. Hopefully this will not be the case. As Prime Minister I can give my assurance that we will remain fully committed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, and to combat other forms of serious and organised crime."

He expressed his trust in the country's institutions, including the police, Attorney General and the FIAU.

"Today's FATF announcement is a testament to our political will resolve and strong commitment," he said.

Given that the FATF said that Malta should continue to work with MONEYVAL to sustain its improvements in its AML/CFT system, The Malta Independent asked whether this means Moneyval will keep a closer eye on Malta than it did before greylisting. Abela confirmed that this will not be the case.

He said that the 58 recommendations made by Moneyval had already been successfully addressed by the government prior to the greylisting. He said that "on the contrary, Moneyval has just seen Malta pass the FATF test. Therefore, this process will not add further supervision."

Abela also added that when the Moneyval assessment is next due for Malta, he aims to achieve a result that will see Malta pass with flying colours.

Asked what the government will do to ensure Malta remains off the FATF's Grey List, Abela insisted that the government will work on keeping a consistent reform process. "We must continue to work for our country in order to remain being considered as a jurisdiction of excellence, and as a country which is looked at as being good for investment," Abela said.

Abela was also asked what has become of the investigations into people like Joseph Muscat and Konrad Mizzi. In reply, Abela said that this government respects its institutions, allowing them to work freely. "We made sure to equip all magistrates with the resources they need to work, but other than that, the government does not intervene in any magisterial processes or inquiries," Abela said.