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FIAU forwarded four cases of terror funding to police A total of 470 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) were received by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit since its establishment in 2002, prompting investigations into 410 different cases.One of the cases last year was forwarded to the police for investigation “on the basis of reasonable suspicions of both money laundering and funding of terrorism.” This was the fourth case of suspected terror funding that was forwarded to the police by the FIAU since 2002. The majority of cases referred to police for investigation usually relate to drug trafficking, fraud, forgery, usury, but also organised crime and human trafficking. The unit, which is chaired by Attorney General Silvio Camilleri, investigates transactions suspected to involved money laundering or the funding of terrorism. Less reports were presented to the FIAU in 2009, a drop of 9% from the previous year with 63 STRs. In the same year, three people were convicted for money laundering. The FIAU’s annual review shows that STR submissions are reaching a level of stability with the number of reports ranging between 60-70 in the last three years. “This figure may lead one to conclude that there has been no increase in the level of awareness [however] a marked increase in the number of STRs submitted by certain categories of subject persons such as members of the accountancy and legal profession, real estate agents and investment services licence holders, may suggest otherwise,” the report states. Of the 2009 cases, 19 were referred to the police for investigation – two of which were generated internally by the FIAU – while another 19 investigations were dropped. Another 49 cases are still being analysed. Banks and financial institutions remain the top originators of STRs (76%). Other originators included lawyers, gaming companies and casinos, trustee firms, real estate firms and accountants. According to the FIAU’s report, a decrease in reports from the banks is probably the result of “greater diligence in internal STR-filtering by credit institutions. Nevertheless, the eventuality of a progressive tactical move by suspected money launderers and terrorist abettors to distance themselves from credit institutions cannot be discarded.” The FIAU goes on to say that the increase in STRs coming from other sources other than banks tends to support the hypothesis that more money laundering is heading away from banks and into different industries “as a result of increased vigilance”. Another development is the fact that the increase over the past years of the gaming business in Malta has started to have an impact on the type of STRs received by the FIAU. Seven reports since 2008 were received from casinos and remote gaming companies. “The needed vigilance for this sector cannot be over-stressed as it remains a potential target for perpetrators,” the FIAU said. Any comments? |
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Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email
Managing editor Saviour Balzan | Tel. ++356 21382741 | Fax: ++356 21385075 | Email