Greens call for ban of fiduciary services

Alternattiva Demokratika today called for the removal of the Maltese fiduciary legislation, making the provision of fiduciary services illegal in Malta.

“Fiduciary services are services which are generally provided by offshore countries for tax evasion. The corporate veil created by fiduciary services in Malta is unfortunately a stepping stone for an invasion by organised crime,” the Green Party said.

Last week, six gaming companies registered in Malta had their assets seized following an investigation by Italian police into illicit  gaming activities and money laundering linked the the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta’.

“It seems that professional firms and the remote gaming authority did not carry out due diligence appropriately on ultimate beneficial owners of the companies they have registered and represented,” AD said.

It added that this failure has seriously tarnished Malta’s international reputation and pointed out that the finance minister’s announcement of a review to the laws regulating the sector was “appropriate but long overdue.”

Alternattiva Demokratika's deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo also called for an investigation by the Auditor General into the operations of the Malta Lotteries and Gaming Authority, to establish whether it was too lax when applying due diligence procedures as a result of which organised crime have established a foothold in the remote gaming industry.