Finance Minister Edward Scicluna this morning launched an asset repatriation programme giving people the opportunity to regularise themselves if they have undeclared assets, such as property and shares.

Cash is being excluded due to EU anti-money laundering directives which in future will also cap the amount of cash allowed in a financial transaction.

Through this scheme, which is also open to companies, beneficiaries will pay a 7.5 per cent fee on the value of the assets abroad, or five per cent if these are repatriated.

The scheme will be open for three months and there will be a three-week period to repatriate assets abroad once it closes.

Brokers will be obliged to keep supporting evidence. Shareholders loans will only be eligible if these were listed in the financial statement published by the last budget date.

Prof. Scicluna said that those who did not conform would be liable to face investigation. He said the exchange of information between financial institutions made this prospect highly likely.

Asked if the government had any estimates of the value of undeclared assets, the finance minister said that the aim was not to raise money but for people to regularise themselves.

He said the income the government received from such schemes had progressively decreased over the years as more people had declared their hidden assets.The scheme, he said, was also intended for those who had inherited assets.

He said that the EU savings directive empowered the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to ask for information on assets and income. He said that Maltese who had accounts in Swiss or EU banks would, nevertheless, face huge pressure to declare their assets.