Anti-graft body throws down gauntlet for corruption reporting
European Commission questions effectiveness of Malta's anti-corruption body over limited staff and lack of results
An anti-graft body has lamented a lack of understanding in people’s minds about what corruption really is.
The permanent commission against corruption, which has been headed by retired judge Lawrence Quintano since 2014, said in a report that allegations are being made without the necessary proof.
“It would be better if people are aware that proof before the criminal courts need to be beyond reasonable doubt,” the commission said.
It further advised that people should consult a criminal lawyer and, “if possible”, a lawyer also familiar with administrative law.
The observations by the commission were made in a case it dismissed about alleged corrupt practices at a Kirkop school.
The commission’s very role is to screen allegations or suspicions of corruption and determine whether there are sufficient grounds for in-depth investigation.
A 2019 report by Greco, a European anti-corruption body, noted how the commission had failed to produce concrete results after 30 years of existence.
It branded the commission’s contribution to Malta’s anti-corruption efforts as “negligible”.
Greco went as far as to say the commission should be abolished as it adds no value to the fight against corruption.
Last year, a European Commission rule of law report said the anti-corruption body’s capacity to achieve concrete results is still to be demonstrated.
Despite international standards requiring anti-corruption agencies to have specialist staff, the European Commission said Malta’s body continues to operate with only three commissioners employed on a part-time basis, supported by one administrative officer.
The anti-corruption commission’s case management system is not yet in place and a standard operating procedure is still under preparation, the European Commission said.
Scrutiny of the anti-corruption commission is limited because, while it presents annual activity reports to Malta’s president, there is no other oversight mechanism in place.
The European Commission said in its 2025 report that the anti-corruption body had not received any reports of corruption during the preceding two years and only forwarded two cases it received in 2022 to the justice ministry, with no findings of corruption.
Since it was established, the anti-corruption body has never transmitted any case to the attorney general’s office for prosecution, the European Commission said.