Some 127 people across 97 cases are facing charges of money laundering in Malta, according to Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.

The figure was revealed in a reply to a parliamentary question by PN MP Karol Aquilina.

It comes as Malta waits to find out whether the country has done enough to be taken off the global Financial Action Task Force's grey list of untrustworthy jurisdictions. 

A panel of experts was in Malta for a three-day visit last month to assess whether the country is doing enough to combat financial crime.

Investigations into financial crime have skyrocketed since the country came under international scrutiny for its financial practices over the last few years.

Local businesspeople have been under the microscope of the Financal Intelligence Analysis Unit, which last year saw a 200 per cent increase in the number of suspicious transactions. 

However Malta's court system remains one of the slowest in Europe, with few convictions secured.

High profile people facing ongoing money laundering charges include Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff of the prime minister; Yorgen Fenech, the businessman who is also charged in connection with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia; and Adrian Hillman, the former Allied Newspapers managing director. 

In one of the most recent cases, police were revealed to have stalled on a major money laundering case against former More supermarket boss Ryan Schembri, who was extradited to Malta last month from the UK.

He is pleading not guilty to the charges.