Six Harsh Things MEPs Concluded About Malta In Latest Rule Of Law Report
Lack of perceived progress on the Caruana Galizia murder case, private political Facebook groups and cryptocurrencies all feature in a harsh report of a delegation of MEPs who probed the rule of law in Malta earlier this month.
Nationalist MEP David Casa, Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes and German MEP Sven Giegold pulled no punches in their criticism when they visited Malta recently, warning the economy will suffer as a result of inaction on the Panama Papers scandal.
And their final report on the state of affairs in Malta, published earlier today, is similarly damning.
1. Caruana Galizia murder investigation ‘stalling’
The MEPs said the police investigation into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is stalling, and there is suspicion that “the plan” is to pin the blame entirely on the three suspected bombers and eventually have them released on bail.
“The police is ostensibly not following all relevant leads to find out who ordered the assassination,” they wrote. “Excuses provided go from lack of resources to impossibility to investigate all people exposed by the deceased who might have had a motive to silence her.”
Specifically, the MEPs said it is “shocking” the police have not thoroughly investigated Economy Minister Chris Cardona in the wake of initial reports by the Daphne Project that he had been spotted drinking with one of the murder suspects.
Moreover, magistrate Anthony Vella – who is leading the murder inquiry – has been offered a promotion to become a judge, a move which could delay the investigation.
2. No action against alleged corruption cases
The MEPs questioned why no police, magisterial or parliamentary inquiries have yet been launched into several cases of alleged corruption and money laundering reported by Caruana Galizia and the Daphne Project.
Such cases include the sale of citizenship (IIP) scheme, the Electrogas deal, the privatisation of three hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, oil smuggling from Libya, and the contract with the American University of Malta.
“The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and Minister Konrad Mizzi continue to hold their posts in government despite the additional evidence of their involvement in criminal activity exposed by the Daphne Project,” they wrote. “Ruling party MPs speak as though elections had cleaned corruption.”
3. Magistrates are ‘overburdened’ with work
After speaking to Anthony Vella and Aaron Bugeja, the magistrates leading inquiries into Caruana Galizia’s murder and the Egrant allegations respectively, the MEPs came to the conclusion that the two magistrates are too burdened with hundreds of other cases to focus properly on the two delicate inquiries.
Neither magistrate spoke to the MEPs about the status of their inquiries, but Bugeja confirmed he has interviewed over 100 people in connection with it.
4. Government officials in Facebook ‘hate groups’
The MEPs criticised government officials, including the Prime Minister, for being part of private Facebook groups for Labour supporters, describing them as “hate groups” and specifically singling out OPM official Neville Gafa as a “hate monger” who is active in the groups.
“Several members of the Government, including the Prime Minister, are active members in Facebook hate Groups who abuse, insult and threaten critics,” they wrote. “Civil society organisations and independent media complain of vicious online campaign to counter their efforts to expose the truth. Some [journalist-blogger Manuel Delia] have suffered online DDOS attacks.”
5. Pilatus Bank license should be withdrawn
Criticism was also reserved for the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) for failing to instantly revoke the banking license of PIlatus Bank after its owner Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad was arrested in the United States and charged with laundering money and evading US sanctions on Iran.
“The MFSA did not withdraw the license of Pilatus Bank but it froze its activity, despite its owner being arrested and charged for laundering money and busting sanctions against Iran and Venezuela in the USA,” they wrote. “The Central Bank of Malta appears to be processing payments on behalf of Pilatus Bank under circumstances that clearly require monitoring and oversight by the European Central Bank.”
6. Serious cryptocurrency concerns
The MEPs warned that several stakeholders in the financial services industry are concerned by Malta’s move to regulate the blockchain industry on the grounds that cryptocurrencies can be used to launder money.
“Many fear that Malta’s move to become a cryptocurrency hub will mean even greater capture of institutions and the further infiltration of organised crime,” they wrote, adding that the industry is also concerned about an upcoming evaluation of Malta by the Council of Europe’s anti money laundering committee Moneyval.