Malta Should Remain Vigilant Against Money Laundering, Says FATF President

Richard Marley
June 27, 2022
3 minutes read
618

FATF President Marcus Pleyer says that Malta must prioritise its fight against illicit financial activities such as money laundering

Money laundering is a serious crime that promotes financial theft and terrorism. The corrupt use it as an essential method to carry out their illegal acts. The authoritarians and organised crime groups are benefitted from this method which converts the dirty money into legal assets.

FATF, a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, has set international standards, that assess various countries and monitor the activities publicly of those who are not doing enough against money laundering controls in their region. The global watchdog tracked some serious issues in the controls of Malta’s AML (Anti Money Laundering) and CFT (Combating against terrorist financing) policies in 2019.

Malta is one of the international financial centres and the gateway to the EU market, these deficiencies could impose multiple risks to the international system of financing. The FATF had provided various opportunities to the country for new reforms, but Malta still possessed several issues with their policies. With lacking the control, Malta was greylisted by the FATF last June, It became the first country in the EU in over a decade to be on the grey list.

In this move of the international watchdog, the Maltese government gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF standards. After several extensive efforts to crack down on illicit finance which involved major changes in both operations and organisations, Malta was removed from the grey list earlier this month.

The FATF President, Marcus Pleyer stated on the country’s regulations that: “It is imperative for authorities to improve implementation of Malta’s laws”. Malta has increased the tracking of the beneficial ownership of companies, which was a gateway for major money laundering activities.

The authorities have also taken strict measures on the violation of the imposed penalties for beneficial ownerships. The gatekeepers of financial systems including accountants and lawyers are also made responsible to regulate the standards, and also to be held accountable if they fail to comply with the set of proposed obligations on the verification of owners.

Malta has also increased the monitoring and analysis of its financial tax offences. The complete staffing is improved with a higher quality of intelligence. These new measures have helped law enforcement agencies to detect and investigate the cases in line with Malta’s most significant money laundering threats and tax crimes.

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With transforming technologies, the overall market is growing to produce more job opportunities for interested candidates. As per the surveys, this number is expected to grow in the coming years, increasing recruitment fraud risks.

Through talent acquisition scams, criminals not only defraud job seekers but also damage the reputation of established companies. So it is in their higher interest to find and implement a credible solution that efficiently mitigates the risks of stolen identity or credentials.

Shufti Pro’s identity verification services present an ideal option to counter this problem through its advanced identification features, including document authentication, facial recognition and address verification.

Want to learn more about identity verification services for eliminating recruitment fraud?

Connect with a KYC Expert

Malta Should Remain Vigilant Against Money Laundering, Says FATF President

How Much Have Australians Lost to Scams?

How do Online Recruiting Scams Work?

Spotting the Signs of Recruitment Fraud

High Profile Criminal Cases of Recruitment Fraud

1. Europol Arrested a Gang Involved in €20 Million Employment Fraud

2. Hampton Gang Member Convicted for Pandemic Employment Fraud

Talent Acquisition Fraud and the Role of Law Enforcement Authorities

1. FBI Issued Instructions to Avoid Employment Scam

2. UK Government – Raising Awareness of Employment Scams

How Shufti Pro can Help

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