MFSA-Pilatus Bank: failure of regulatory body, AD calls for investigation by Auditor General
AD Deputy Chairperson, Carmel Cacopardo, announced that Alternattiva Demokratika will present a formal request to the Auditor General to open an investigation on the MFSA (the Malta Financial Services Authority).
Cacopardo said that it is crystal clear that the crisis which has hit the country is due to the complete collapse of the institutions entrusted to safeguard transparency, governance and ethics in every area of public life.
After the police force has been emasculated by the change of no less than four commissioners in three years, and after their massive delays to investigate the serious allegations coming out in these past few days, a long shadow is now cast on the financial services regulator, the MFSA.
The Greens are asking the Auditor General to examine the license granted by the MFSA to Pilatus Bank, and in particular:
1. If the criteria under which it issued a license to Pilatus Bank followed the normal and usual practice used by the Authority in similar circumstances. Linked to this, we ask the Auditor General to shed light on how the MFSA issued a license to Pilatus Bank when its chairman is not even a banker.
2. We are asking the Auditor General to investigate whether steps have been taken by the MFSA when and if it realised that among the list of a few customers this bank has, there are Politically Exposed Persons from the most corrupt country in the world, Azerbaijan, with a substantial risk that their bank accounts are financed by money laundering, inflicting huge reputational damage on the entire financial sector of Malta.
3. We are asking the Auditor General to examine the claim that during an inspection by MFSA in 2015 bank accounts belonging to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri were identified and if this was the case, why their names were omitted from the final inspection report.
Carmel Cacopardo concluded by saying that Alternattiva Demokratika had to take this step since the regulator of financial services remained silent in spite of the ongoing serious allegations about the operations of financial services institutions in Malta.
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MFSA-Pilatus Bank: il-falliment tar-regolatur, AD issejjaħ għal investigazzjoni mill-Awditur Ġenerali
Id-Deputat Chairperson ta’ Alternattiva Demokratika, Carmel Cacopardo, ħabbar li għada Alternattiva Demkratika se tippreżenta talba formali lill-Awditur Generali biex jiftaħ investigazzjoni fuq l-MFSA (l-Awtorita` tas-Servizzi Finanzjarji).
Cacopardo jgħid li dak li huwa ċar kristall minn din il-krizi li ħakmet ‘il-pajjiz hija l-falliment ta’ istituzzjonijiet li huma fdati biex jissalvagwardjaw it-trasparenza, governanza u etika f’kull qasam tal-ħajja pubblika.
Wara li l-korp tal-pulizija spiċċa bla snien bil-bidla ta’ xejn inqas minn 4 kummissarji fi tliet snin, kif ukoll l-ittardjar biex jinvestiga l-allegazzjonijiet serji li ħargu f’dawn il-jiem, issa hemm dell ieħor fuq ir-regolatur tas-servizzi finanzjarji, l-MFSA.
Alternattiva Demokratika qed titlob lill-Awditur Ġenerali jeżamina l-liċenzja moghtija lil Pilatus Bank mill-MFSA, u b’mod partikolari:
1. Jekk il-kriterji li fuqhom ħarget liċenzja lil Pilatus Bank kienux skont il-prassi li tuża l-istess Awtorita` meta tikkunsidra talbiet simili. Marbut ma dan, titlob lill-Awditur Ġenerali jixħet dawl fuq kif l-MFSA harġet liċenzja lil Pilatus Bank meta ċ-chairperson tiegħu lanqas biss huwa bankier.
2. Titlob lill-Awditur Ġenerali jinvestiga jekk ittieħdux passi mill-MFSA meta sar magħruf li fost il-lista ta’ ftit klijenti li għandu dan il-bank, hemm politically exposed persons mill-iktar pajjiz korrott fid-dinja, l-Ażerbajġan, b’riskju sostanzjali li l-kontijiet bankarji qed jigu ffinanzjati minn ħasil ta’ flus u bi ħsara kbira għas-settur kollu finanzjarju fil-pajjiż.
3. Titlob ‘l-Awditur Ġenerali jeżamina l-allegazzjoni jekk waqt spezzjoni tal-bank fl-2015 kienux instabu kontijiet ta’ Konrad Mizzi u Keith Schembru u jekk dan kien il-każ, għalfejn isimhom tħalla barra mir-rapport finali.
Carmel Cacopardo temm jgħid li Alternattiva Demokratika kellha tieħu dan il-pass wara li r-regolatur tas-Servizzi Finanzjarji baqa’ b’ħalqu magħluq fil-konfront tal-allegazzjonijiet gravi li għaddejjin bħalissa.
