Breaking: Malta gets greylisted by the FATF

The FATF, an anti-money laundering watchdog has officially voted to place Malta on the EU grey list of untrustworthy jurisdictions.

It would appear that last-minute attempts by Malta’s government to lobby against the downgrading, which can potentially lead to negative consequences on Malta’s economy, fell on deaf ears. While an official statement about the outcome is yet to be made, it is reported that the voting process was concluded at around 2.30PM this afternoon (Wednesday).

This makes Malta the first EU country to get the grey listing. The decision is likely to surprise many, as hopes that this measure would be avoided had been considerably fuelled back in March when sources close to government claimed that the island had received positive feedback about anti moneylaundering measures.

The greylisting vote is yet to formally approved, although this is generally understood to be a formality. The vote can have an impact on iGaming industry, although Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has gone on record saying that everything will be done to minimize the impact on industry. Government is expected to hold a press conference later today, while the official FATF press briefing is set to take place Friday.

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