Knocking On FIAU’s Door To Report Money Laundering And Terrorism Financing At Your Maltese Workplace
We often read and hear about the Whistleblower Act. But what is it, who does it affect and why is this law important?
Let’s start from the basics – what is a whistleblower?
A whistleblower is a person, often an employee, who discloses information about illegal and improper practices within a private or public organisation.
Whistleblowers can communicate information or allegations through the company’s internal system for suspicious reporting or depending on the nature of the report by sending it to the relevant external authority/entity responsible for the suspicion. In the case of suspicion of money laundering and funding of terrorism, the entity would be the FIAU.
The first port of call for a report needs to be internal, then if no internal action is taken, the report needs to be made externally. There are certain exemptions to this procedure according to the specificities of the case in question.
Which external channels are there in Malta?
In 2013, Malta introduced the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, Cap 527 of the Laws of Malta.
This Act provides for the reporting of various suspicions of crime to different entities, depending on the nature of the report.
This law designates the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit as the authority responsible for receiving disclosures from the private sector about any improper practices linked to actions which may give rise to or be a case of money laundering or funding of terrorism offences, irrespective of whether these acts were committed in the past, are being committed in the present or are likely to be committed in the future.
In this case, any employee employed with the private sector, including employees of subject persons, can make an external disclosure to the FIAU.
What is the provided protection?
Employees who make such disclosures are afforded the protection of the law, including the protection of their identity, which can only be disclosed in exceptional circumstances when it is necessary for action to be taken, and only if the person’s prior consent is obtained.
Whistleblowing employees are also safeguarded against any discriminatory action that the employer may take against them.
Employees making such disclosures can only benefit from the mentioned safeguards by law, provided that these disclosures are:
– Made in good faith, without any expectations of personal gain and reasonably believing that the information being disclosed is true.
– Made only after the employee has already internally reported the improper practice and no action was taken by the employer to redress the disclosure. This principle may be waived if the employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the head of their organisation may be involved in the improper practice themselves, if urgent action is required, or due to any other exceptional circumstance, such as if the employee has reason to believe that internal disclosure will see them subjected to occupational detriment or lead to the evidence being tampered with, concealed or destroyed.
How do you file an external report with the FIAU?
External disclosures to the FIAU should ideally be submitted in writing, marked as ‘strictly confidential’, and addressed to the Whistleblowing Reports Unit, or via email at [email protected].
Any external disclosures received falling within the FIAU’s remit will be thoroughly investigated to determine whether there is any prima facie evidence of wrongdoing.
In doing so, the FIAU may request the whistleblower to attend meetings, request any witnesses indicated in the disclosure to give statements and collect any additional information and documentation on the subject matter.
In case the police or another authority is better placed to investigate the alleged improper practice disclosed, the FIAU will transmit the relevant information to them. Any information forwarded will not include any details of the whistleblower’s identity.
The employee submitting the disclosure will be informed of the investigation’s outcome and of any action taken when this is warranted.
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