Malta struck off FATF's 'untrustworthy' grey list

Valletta, June 18 Malta was officially removed from a list of untrustworthy financial jurisdictions after cracking down on money laundering, the president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said.

However, the country still has more work to do, he added.

Marcus Pleyer was addressing a press conference shortly after the FATF, a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, removed Malta from the so-called "grey list" a year after it was added, reports Xinhua news agency.

The FATF said Malta had made significant progress, and strengthened the effectiveness of its anti-money laundering regime.

Pleyer said the island had been taken off the grey list because it has doubled the resources of its business registry, conducted a thorough risk assessment, and successfully identified companies that conceal their true owners.

He said that the majority of concealed ownership uncovered in Malta concerned foreign-owned companies, but the country has now clamped down on these.

However, he added that Malta's removal from the list "doesn't mean there isn't more work to do".

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela told a press conference that the action plan drawn up together with the FATF in 2021 had been implemented in a "record"12 months.

He vowed the government will keep up the fight against high-level criminality and organised crime.