Grech says his letter to FATF was about defending the country

PN leader Bernard Grech on Sunday defended his decision to write to the Financial Action Task Force as it considers grey-listing Malta, saying he was doing his part in defending the country.

Speaking in a PN telephone interview, he said that the fact that Malta's laws and actions against money laundering were being questioned by international bodies such as the FATF was already a huge hit to Malta’s reputation.

“The reality of the situation is that the damage to our country is already done. Whether we pass or fail, the fact that we’re being put to the test is already very damaging,” Grech said. 

The FATF is due to have a final vote on Wednesday on whether to put Malta on a money laundering offenders' grey list. International experts gave mixed reviews to the global anti-money laundering watchdog during a meeting in Paris on Tuesday. i

Grech said that he felt the need to write to the FATF to “be proactive and do his part in defending the country”. 

“As the Opposition we have offered and agreed with the Government that we are ready to help wherever necessary and possible to defend our country, but we have so far not been approached to do anything tangible,” Grech said. 

“I’ve...