The FATF has added Malta, the Philippines, Haiti, and South Sudan to its list of countries with strategic deficiencies in countering money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
The FATF stated that Malta has made a high-level political commitment to strengthen its AML/CFT regime in collaboration with the FATF and MONEYVAL.
Malta has been given an action plan by the FATF, which includes demonstrating the accuracy of beneficial ownership information and imposing sanctions on legal persons providing inaccurate information.
The Maltese government will rely more on intelligence from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and clarify the role of the FIU in comparison to the Commissioner for Revenue.
The government of Malta will also enhance FIU analysis of money laundering and tax evasion to enable law enforcement to take greater action against these crimes.
The report from Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) emphasized the need for remote gaming operators to collect valuable data and identified an increase in suspicious transaction reports related to money laundering across all sectors.
The Philippines has also agreed to strengthen its AML and CTF policies. Their action plan includes addressing risks associated with casino junkets, effective risk-based supervision of designated non-financial businesses, and increased law enforcement access to beneficial ownership information.
The Philippines will also implement new registration requirements for money transfers, increase the use of financial intelligence information, take appropriate measures regarding nonprofits, and introduce targeted sanctions when necessary.
