Attorney General’s office issued 30 investigation orders on money laundering between 2010 and 2017

The Office of the Attorney General issued 30 investigation orders in line with anti-money laundering laws between 2010 and 2017, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici told Parliament yesterday.

He was replying to a parliamentary question by PN MP Karol Aquilina, who also asked for a list of names against whom the investigations were requested and the number of requests that were accepted by the courts.

The data provided shows that the the attorney general requested two investigation orders in 2010, both into money laundering.

Three requests were made the following year. Nine investigation orders were issued in 2012, and three in 2013.

Four requests were made each year in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and a single request was made in 2017.

Minister Bonnici said he would not reveal the names because of the secrecy of the investigations and the right to privacy.

Attorney General Peter Grech, who also chairs the board of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has been criticised for failing to request an investigation into the Panama Papers, in which Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi have been implicated.

The attorney general had told a European Parliament fact-finding mission on the rule of law in Malta that to issue such an investigation order, one must be in possession of concrete evidence in order to stand before the courts.

The Opposition says that the leaked FIAU reports are grounds enough for an investigation to be requested.

Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri has also said that the police do not need “reasonable suspicion” to start a criminal investigation. Investigations can be initiated by the police with simple information of a crime brought to their attention, in any form.