FATF Will Announce Updates To Its Grey List This Evening
The Financial Action Task Force will announce updates to its infamous grey list this evening, with FATF president Marcus Pleyer scheduled to deliver a press conference.
Malta, which was greylisted last June, is not expected to be placed back on the white list today as the authorities expect the grey list process to last up to 18 months.
However, the Financial Times reported that the FATF is likely to add Turkey to its grey list, a decision the newspaper warned will risk denting the country’s ability to attract foreign capital.
Malta’s attractiveness as a jurisdiction has plunged since greylisting, with an EY survey finding that only 37% of investors see the country as attractive, down from 62% last year.
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has said the authorities are working to get Malta back on the white list, including through virtual and face-to-face meetings with the FATF.
However, he has refused to go into detail, arguing that working in silence and without any “triumphalism” will ultimately reap benefits.
Shadow Finance Minister Mario de Marco has urged the government to be transparent, arguing that the general public and financial services stakeholders have a right to know exactly why Malta was greylisted in the first place and what its action plan to get whitelisted is.
“We didn’t get on the grey list because some audit firm or corporate service provider wasn’t doing its job, but because the government wasn’t doing its job,” he said, arguing that Malta failed the test because of the lack of prosecutions of high-profile people like former minister Konrad Mizzi.
Cover photo: FATF President Marcus Pleyer
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