Malta Appears to have Passed the Initial Moneyval Test

Moneyval, the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, the European regional body of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) established in 1997 and permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe which assesses a country’s compliance with the principle international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism, has seemingly approved of Malta's current status with respect to Malta’s national and international standards surrounding Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism.

After the Mutual Evaluation carried out in 2019 by the Moneyval delegation which noticed considerable deficiencies in Malta’s AML/CFT framework, Malta cracked down on its anti-money laundering and CFT regime, implementing a series of reforms that helped the country pass the strict Moneyval test and avoided being put under Enhanced Monitoring Procedures or “grey listed”.

Official confirmation is expected in June as the report will be held confidential until the official publishing of Moneyval in the summer. The final step will be the verdict by the FATF.

A series of reforms was made to the police force which saw the strengthening of the Financial Crimes Unit; this led to a higher number of cases filed in court by the authorities, this including high profile prosecutions related to financial crimes and money laundering. 

The FIAU and MFSA both enriched their sectors relating to the financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering and CFT with more resources.

These actions seem to have awarded Malta with a passing grade which the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry was pleased with. It commented that this success could only be achieved through a unified approach in an effort to maintain the highest of standards by keeping transparency at the forefront.

Compliance and anti-money laundering have been shown to be taken very seriously by the Maltese Government. It is therefore of primary importance for businesses to adhere to the strict rules and regulations set forth. CSB Group provides an exhaustive list of services one can avail themselves of: its Risk and Compliance unit offers Regulatory Compliance, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), AML/CFT Compliance Services, and the Regulated Financial Services unit provides support in Funds/ Collective Investment Schemes, Investment Services in Malta, Banking and Financial Institutions in Malta, and Insurance Distributors amongst many other.

For your own tailor-made solution please contact our resident specialist Franklin Cachia at [email protected], and he will be glad to aid you further.