Fil-lista l-griża: wara snin ma jsir xejn dwar il-ħasil tal-flus

Ċertament li mhux ġust mal-Maltin li l-FATF (Financial Action Task Force) poġġiet lil Malta fuq il-lista l-griża.

Li dħalna fil-lista l-griża hu bla l-iċken dubju ħtija tal-Gvern. L-Opposizzjoni ukoll għandha terfa’ parti mit-tort u dan minħabba li fl-2013 ħalliet warajha istituzzjonijiet dgħajfa. B’istituzzjonijiet dgħajfa l-ħmieġ hu iffaċilitat.

Ilkoll għandna nkunu mnikktin bid-deċiżjoni tal-FATF (Financial Action Task Force) li tpoġġi lill-Malta fuq il-lista l-griża, minkejja li din id-deċiżjoni kienet mistennija.

Il-kelliema tal-Gvern, matul il-ġimgħa, kienu qed jenfasizzaw li ttieħdu ħafna deċiżjonijiet biex jissaħħaħ il-qafa regolatorju. Li ma qalulniex hu li dan sar wara bosta snin ta’ infurzar żero. Li għal snin sħaħ l-awtoritajiet regolatorji bħall-FIAU kellhom fosthom kollaboraturi ta’ kriminali magħrufa, bħal Silvio Valletta, eks-Deputat Kummissarju tal-Pulizija.

Kellna lill-grupp Parlamentari Laburista li irrifjuta li jikkundanna lil Konrad Mizzi u lil Keith Schembri għall-involviment tagħhom fl-iskandlu tal-Panama Papers. Ilkoll kemm huma ikkontribwew biex Malta ġiet inkluża fuq il-lista l-griża.

Tiftakru lil Varist Bartolo fuq Hard Talk jispjega għaliex ivvota favur Mizzi u Schembri? Kienet strateġija biex jissopravivi qalilna (strategy for survival) bit-tama li jkun għadu hemm meta tasal il-battalja li jmiss. Jew forsi tiftakru lill-Leo Brincat jispjega meta kien taħt skrutinju fil-Parlament Ewropew in konnessjoni man-nomina tiegħu għall-Qorti tal-Awdituri? Dakinnhar kien qalilna li ma jridx li jispiċċa eroj għal ġurnata biex imbgħad wara jispiċċa fil-baħħ!

Kellna lill-Kummissarju tal-Pulizija ma jinvestigax każijiet ta’ ħasil ta’ flus għal snin sħaħ. Huwa biss reċentement li Kummissarju tal-Pulizija l-ġdid għamel l-investigazzjonijiet u prosekuzzjonijiet possibbli.

Sfortunatament, l-azzjoni kontra l-ħasil tal-flus waslet tard. Sadanittant saret ħsara konsiderevoli. Il-kompliċità kriminali tal-Gvern f’dan kollu għamlet ħsara serja lill-ekonomija u lis-soċjetà. Huma dawk fil-livelli ta’ dħul aktar baxx li se iħossu l-biċċa l-kbira ta’ l-impatti negattivi ta’ dan kollu. Dawn jeħtieġu l-empatija tagħna. Dawn għandhom bżonn l-iktar protezzjoni f’dan il-mument.

Il-Gvern, bl-appoġġ tal-Oppożizzjoni, matul is-snin żviluppa “kunsens nazzjonali” dwar is-settur finanzjarju inkluż li jagħmilha possibbli li Malta tintuża bħala ċentru internazzjonali tal-evażjoni tat-taxxa. Flimkien mal-iskema tal-bejgħ taċ-ċittadinanza dan ikkontribwixxa aktar għat-tkissir tar-reputazzjoni ta’ Malta bħala ġurisdizzjoni li tista’ tkun afdata.

Xi ħadd jiftakar iċ-ċirkustanzi li wasslu għar-riżenja ta’ Joseph Cuschieri, CEO tal-Awtorità tas-Serviżżi Finanzjarji (MFSA) wara li ż-żjara tiegħu f’Las Vegas ma Yorgen Fenech ġiet għall-attenzjoni pubblika? Il-vjaġġ kien iffinanzjat minn Yorgen Fenech meta Cuschieri kien għadu jmexxi l-Awtorità tal-Logħob li suppost kienet ir-regolatur tal-casino ta’ Yorgen Fenech.  B’regolaturi bħal dawn, kif jista’ jsir l-infurzar?

Dan l-isfreġju sħiħ fuq Malta kien immexxi direttament minn Joseph Muscat u Edward Scicluna, eks-Ministru tal-Finanzi li ġie ppremjat bil-ħatra tiegħu bħala Gvernatur tal-Bank Ċentrali. Muscat spiċċa. Scicluna għandu bżonn isegwih malajr. Huwa għandu jew jirriżenja jew jitkeċċa minnufih.

Huwa xieraq wkoll li nfakkru li dan it-taħwid kollu kien is-suġġett tal-ġurnaliżmu investigattiv ta’ Daphne Caruana Galizia li nqatlet għall-isforzi tagħha biex tinfurmana u tesponi l-elit kriminali. Intilfet il-ħajja ta’ mara, omm u ġurnalista.

Huwa essenzjali li tittieħed azzjoni immedjata biex tibda terġa’ tinbena r-reputazzjoni ta’ Malta. Dan għandu jinkludi r-revoka immedjata tal-iskema tal-bejgħ taċ-ċittadinanza u l-għeluq tal-lakuni legali li biddlu lil Malta f’bażi ta’ evazjoni tat-taxxa.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : il-Ħadd 27 ta’ Ġunju 2021

Grey listing: after years of zero enforcement on money laundering

The grey listing announced earlier during the week as a result of a decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is definitely not fair on the Maltese people.

The grey list is government’s making. However, the opposition certainly has a finger in the pie too as it is ultimately responsible for the weak institutions which it left in place in 2013. These weak institutions facilitated the current mess.

We should all be saddened by the decision of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) to have Malta on its grey list, even though this course of action was expected.  

Government spokespersons have been emphasising that a lot of regulatory sprucing and reinforcement has been taken in hand.  However, they did not tell us that this has been done after several years of zero enforcement. After years having regulatory authorities such as FIAU staffed by collaborators of known criminals, such as Silvio Valletta, former Deputy Commissioner of Police.

We have had all Labour MPs in Parliament refusing to condemn Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri when their Panama Papers involvement was made public. All of them have contributed to this grey listing. 

Do you remember Evarist Bartolo explaining on Hard Talk why he voted in favour of Mizzi and Schembri? He had a strategy for survival, hoping “to live and fight another day”. Or Leo Brincat’s explanation when being scrutinised by the EU Parliament Budgetary Control Committee prior to his appointment at the European Court of Auditors? Leo Brincat had than stated that he did not want to live as a hero for one day, to be subsequently condemned to the wilderness for the rest of his life!

We have had the Commissioner of Police not investigating money laundering cases for years on end. It is only recently that a new Police Commissioner has made investigations and prosecutions possible.

Unfortunately, the action against money laundering has been late in coming. Considerable damage has resulted in the meantime. Government criminal complicity in all this has seriously damaged the economy and society.  It is those in the lower income levels who will feel most of the impacts of all this. They need our empathy. It is they who need most protection at this point in time.

Government with the support of the opposition has over the years developed a “national consensus” on the financial sector including the setup which makes it possible for international tax evasion to make use of Malta as a base. Together with the sale of citizenship scheme this has further contributed to the erosion of Malta’s reputation as a trustworthy jurisdiction.

Anybody remembers the circumstances which led to the 2018 resignation of the MFSA (Malta Financial Services Authority) CEO Joseph Cuschieri following his Las Vegas trip with Yorgen Fenech becoming public knowledge? The trip had been financed by Fenech when Cuschieri was still the Gaming Authority Chief, supposedly regulating Yorgen Fenech’s casino!

All this mess was directed by Joseph Muscat and Edward Scicluna, former Finance Minister who has been rewarded for his endeavours by his appointment as Governor of the Central Bank. Muscat is gone. Scicluna, politically responsible for ensuring that money-laundering structures were functioning, needs to follow him at the earliest. He should either resign or be dismissed forthwith.

It is also pertinent to point out that all this was the subject of the investigative journalism of Daphne Caruana Galizia who was blown up for her efforts to inform us and expose the criminal elite. We have lost a life: a mother, a wife, a journalist.

Immediate action is essential to start rebuilding Malta’s reputation. This should include the immediate repeal of the sale of citizenship scheme and closing the legal loopholes which have transformed Malta into a tax haven.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 27 June 2021

Edward Scicluna: bla boċċi

Ix-xhieda ta’ Edward Scicluna f’nofs il-ġimgħa fl-inkjesta dwar l-assassinazzjoni ta’  Daphne Caruana Galizia hi offensiva u triegħex. Mix-xhieda tiegħu stess Scicluna joħroġ bħala Ministru tal-Finanzi  bla sinsla, dgħajjef u beżżiegħ: inkapaċi li jkun deċiżiv fil-konfront tal-abbuż. B’riżultat ta’ dan  spiċċa jiċċertifika lilu nnifsu bħala  li mhux kapaċi jerfa’ fuq spallejh r-responsabbiltajiet ta’ Ministru.

F’dan kollu mexa fuq il-passi tal-kollega tiegħu il-Ministru tal-Affarijiet Barranin Evarist Bartolo. Fl-istess inkjesta, Bartolo, xehed ix-xahar l-ieħor meta qal li kien jippreferi strateġija ta’ sopravivenza: li jsalva l-ħajja politika tiegħu biex ikun possibli li jkompli l-ġlieda politika “fil-futur”. Dan qalu meta kien rinfaċċat bin-nuqqas ta’ azzjoni konkreta min-naħa tal-Gvern (li minnu hu kien u għadu jifforma parti) fil-konfront tal-involviment tal-eks-Ministru Konrad Mizzi u l-eks-Chief of Staff tal-Prim Ministru Joseph Musca,t Keith Schembri, fl-iskandlu magħruf bħala Panama Papers.

Il-kaz ta’ Edward Scicluna mhux  wieħed iżolat. Il-qarrejja jiftakru s-seduta ta’ smigħ ta’  Leo Brincat fl-2016 fil-Parlament Ewropew meta ġie mgħarbul mill-Kumitat tal-Budget in vista tan-nominazzjoni tiegħu biex ikun jifforma parti mill-Qorti Ewropea tal-Awdituri.  Meta, in vista tad-dikjarazzjonijiet tiegħu kien ippressat għal tweġiba mill-Membri tal-Parlament Ewropew dwar il-għala ma rreżenjax, Leo Brincat kien wieġeb li ma kellu l-ebda xewqa li jkun “eroj għal ġurnata biex imbagħad, wara jispiċċa f’baħħ politiku”.

Edward Scicluna quddiem l-inkjesta qal : “għalfejn għandi nirreżenja jien, meta hu ħaddieħor li għamel il-ħażin?” Żied jgħid li hu “daħal fil-politika biex jagħti servizz” u dan minkejja li kien komdu Brussel bħala Membru tal-Parlament Ewropew b’salarju ta’  €100,000.

Li jagħti l-pariri lil Joseph Muscat biex jiddistakka ruħu mill-impatti tal-iskandlu tal-Panama Papers mhux biżżejjed.  Edward Scicluna kien bla dubju jaf, anke kif jirriżulta mix-xhieda tiegħu, li dawk ta’ madwar Joseph Muscat kienu qed iduru mar-regoli biex jevitaw obbligi dwar trasparenza u kontabilità, u dan biex jilħqu l-għanijiet tagħhom.  Bħala Ministru tal-Finanzi Scicluna seta’, kieku ried, jaħsad ras dan l-abbuż mill-ewwel, bla ma jħallieħ jikber. Iżda minflok ipprefera jitfa’ ir-responsabbiltà fuq ħaddieħor: ipprova  jiddistakka ruħu biex jevita l-inkwiet u jibqa’ komdu.

Ir-responsabbiltajiet ta’ Edward Scicluna bħala Ministru tal-Finanzi imorru lil hinn milli jħejji l-budget bi stimi ta’ dħul u infieq. Għandu ukoll l-obbligu li jassigura li l-infieq tal-Gvern ikun wieħed trasparenti b’kontabilità sħiħa, u dan irrispettivament minn liema awtorità, Ministeru jew ċrieki madwar il-Prim Ministru jkunu fdati minn xi proġett speċifiku.

Il-Prim Ministru għandu l-obbligu li jmexxi bl-eżempju: għandu jassigura ruħu li kemm il-Kabinett tiegħu kif ukoll dawk kollha madwaru jimxu bi trasparenza u kontabiltà sħiħa. Jekk jonqos  milli jagħmel dan hu obbligu tal-membri kollha tal-Kabinett li jew jisfurzawh jaġixxi sewwa inkella li jirriżenjaw mill-Kabinett u jkomplu l-kritika tagħhom minn barra. Kull membru tal-Kabinett li jonqos li jaġixxi b’dan il-mod ikun kompliċi u responsabbli flimkien ma dawk li jkunu qed jabbużaw.

Dawk madwar il-Prim Ministru m’għandhomx jitħallew imexxu b’mod li jevitaw li jagħtu kont ta’ għemilhom u b’hekk iġibu fix-xejn il-ħidma tal-Parlament li kontinwament isus fuq it-trasparenza u l-kontabilità bla eċċezzjoni.

Hu irresponsabbli li Edward Scicluna issa jipprova jiddistakka ruħu pubblikament minn Joseph Muscat u dawk ta’ madwaru. Issa li Muscat m’għadux Prim Ministru hu faċli li jagħmel dan! Messu kellu l-boċċi li jaġixxi immedjatament li nduna x’kien għaddej.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : Il-Ħadd 16 t’Awwissu 2020

Edward Scicluna has no balls

Edward Scicluna’s testimony, mid-week, during the inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination is outrageous. Through his own testimony he depicts himself as a spineless Minister of Finance, weak, soft and cowardly, incapable of acting decisively in the face of abuse. As a result, he ends up certifying himself as not being capable to shoulder his responsibilities as a Minister.

In so doing he is following the lead of his colleague Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo. Bartolo, testifying in the same inquiry last month stated that rather than resign he preferred to politically survive to be able to fight another day.  He stated this when faced by his Government’s lack of concrete action on the direct involvement of former Minister Konrad Mizzi and Joseph Muscat’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri in the Panama Papers and other irregularities.

Scicluna’s is not an isolated case. Readers will remember Leo Brincat’s hearing at the European Parliament in 2016 when he was scrutinised by its Budget Committee in relation to his nomination to form part of the EU Court of Auditors. When, in view of his statements, he was pressed for an answer by MEPs as to why he did not resign he had replied that he had no desire to be a “hero for a day and end up in the (political) wilderness thereafter”.

Edward Scicluna told the inquiry: “why should I resign if someone else did wrong?” He added that to “enter local politics to perform a job” he had left his comfort zone and a €100,000 job in Brussels as an MEP.

Advising Joseph Muscat to distance himself from the Panama Papers fallout is certainly not enough. Scicluna was definitely aware, even as evidenced in his own testimony, that Joseph Muscat’s Kitchen Cabinet was bypassing the system and as a result was avoiding transparency and accountability rules to better achieve “their aims”. As Finance Minister Scicluna could have nipped abuse in the bud but he did not, as he preferred to compartmentalise responsibilities and stay safe in his new comfort zone.

Scicluna’s responsibilities as Finance Minister amount to much more than budgeting for the necessary expenditure. Ensuring that all Government expenditure is transparent and fully accountable is his ultimate responsibility too, irrespective of which quango, Ministry (or Kitchen Cabinet member) is in charge of any specific project.

The Prime Minister has the duty to lead by example: he should ensure transparency and accountability in the workings of all his Cabinet members, including those in his Kitchen Cabinet. Whenever he fails to do so it is a duty of Cabinet members themselves to bring him to order or else to resign from Cabinet and take up the case in public. Any Cabinet Minister who fails to so act is an accomplice and collectively responsible for the resulting abuse.

No Kitchen Cabinet or shadow government should be allowed to run the country, continuously avoiding the checks and balances which, responsible parliaments set up to ensure that the taxes we pay are well spent.

It is irresponsible for Edward Scicluna to denounce Joseph Muscat’s Kitchen Cabinet now that he is no more Prime Minister. He should have had the balls to act immediately that he was aware of Muscat’s Kitchen Cabinet manoeuvres. The fact that he remained in his comfort zone signifies that he is as morally bankrupt as his colleagues in the now defunct Kitchen Cabinet.

Birds of a feather flock together.  

Published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 16 August 2020

Snippets from the EGP Manifesto: (5) Lobbyists, fraud and corruption

 

The EU needs a stronger anti-corruption policy and more effective instruments against organized crime to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, and also to strengthen the European economy.

Corrupt behaviour by EU officials or parliamentarians in their relations with lobbyists must be met with very strong reactions. Big business still influences the Commission too much. Almost 80% of all stakeholders appointed by the Commission represent corporate interests, despite a commitment to change.

Greens also fight to tackle the problem of “revolving doors” where top bureaucrats and politicians in European institutions join private organizations which they were previously responsible for regulating. We want to safeguard democracy from corruption by introducing robust regulation and transparency for the financing of political parties, candidates and election campaigns. We want to provide the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Auditors with stronger tools to control the way in which EU resources are spent and to act against corruption both within the EU institutions and in the case of serious problems within the member states.

(EGP 2014 Manifesto section entitled  : Fight Fraud and Corruption)

Gonzi jaħseb fit-tul !

Veru li Lawrence Gonzi jaħseb fit-tul.

Fl-2004 meta Josef Bonnci irreżenja minn Membru Parlamentari biex ħa l-ħatra fil-Qorti tal-Awdituri tal-Unjoni Ewropeja ġie co-opted floku t-Tabib Pjiskjatra Joe Cassar.

Min qatt ħaseb daqshekk bil-quddiem dwar x’kien ser ikolllhom bżonn l-Onorevoli Membri Parlamentari.

Issa f’mossa oħra li tħares fil-bogħod ser jippreżenta bħala kandidat fuq Tas-Sliema lill-kardjoloġista Albert Fenech. Jidher li li l-politika ftit tinteressah b’tali mod li jekk jitla’ fil-Parlament ser jagħti kontribut daqs numru ta’ tobba oħra Onorevoli li rari ħafna jersqu lejn il-Parlament.

Jidher imma li anke fil-Parlament jista’ jkun hemm bżonn tas-servizzi professjonali tiegħu meta jkun magħruf x’inhi l-qagħda reali tal-finanzi tal-pajjiż.

Kif intqal fi blog oħra “il-profs Fenech se jkollna bżonnu fil-Parlament, għax ħafna qlub mhux se jkunu jifilħu iżjed, x’ħin inkunu nafu f’liema stat huma l-finanzi tal-pajjiż.”

Ara vera Gonzi jaħseb fit-tul. L-ewwel psikjatra u issa kardjoloġista!

Louis Galea should ensure fair electoral reform

Louis Galea should ensure fair electoral reform. Speaking about parliament’s select committee on electoral law reform, Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party said that it is disappointed at the fact that in one and a half years the only thing the select committee seems to have agreed upon with regards to the reform on the electoral system is to widen the threshold for expenditure by candidates at elections. Michael Briguglio, AD Chairperson, asked:’Is this being done to ensure that PN and PL candidates who broke the law by exceeding expenditure limits, could come off scot free? We augur that Louis Galea will not be remembered for chairing a select committee that only managed to cover up for such candidates. We strongly urge Louis Galea to ensure that before he leaves for the Court of Auditors, the electoral law is changed so that the number of votes are reflected proportionately for all political parties as regards the number of seats, and not only for PL and PN, as the situation scandalously is at the moment’. In the meantime, a delegation of Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party, comprising Michael Briguglio, Ralph Cassar, Arnold Cassola and Carmel Cacopardo met Louis Galea last week to discuss issues relating to the select committee (electoral reform, regulating political party financing and broadcasting) as well as Dr Galea’s nomination to the EU Court of Auditors. As regards the reform of the electoral system Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party is proposing a double threshold, with a district quota of 16.6% that would allow an individual to be elected on her/his own steam, and a national quota with a threshold of 2 quotas for a party to be represented in parliament. This system is similar to that of highly developed democracies such as Germany. ‘AD is proposing a fair balance between democratic representation of voters and functional governance. We are for true proportional representation for all citizens, where each and every vote counts the same. Unlike PN and PL which work as a duopoly that excludes others from the electoral process, AD is putting forward responsible proposals’, added Briguglio AD’s proposals can be read at:

http://www.alternattiva.org.mt/filebank/documents/sistemaelettorali.PDF