A new law aimed at enabling the re-export of cultural items owned by foreigners who move to Malta could be used to facilitate money laundering, PN MP Darren Carabott warned on Tuesday.
He was speaking during a parliamentary debate on a bill that would amend the Cultural Heritage Act.
"There is a danger that people use works of art for illicit purposes, something that has been going on for years across the world," Carabott said.
"Transnational criminality often hides behind actions that seem well-intentioned."
Should the new law pass through parliament, people who move to Malta and bring works of art or other cultural items with them, would be able to take them out of Malta once more without hindrance.
The bill means that the government will renounce the right of preference and the right to prohibit the re-exportation or movement of those cultural items. The items have to be declared before they are brought to Malta, and ownership must be proven.
Cultural Minister Owen Bonnici told the House on Monday that several art collectors or other high-net-worth individuals wanted to move to Malta with their collections.
Still, their advisers often warned that current regulations would make it difficult for them to take their collections out of Malta should they decide to return to their country of origin.
While agreeing with the spirit of the law, Carabott pointed out risks that the new amendments might bring.
He said prices of works of art acquired legally were sometimes inflated to launder money.
"Someone who has money from criminal actions, like drug trafficking, can buy works of art with dirty money, which are eventually exhibited in galleries".
Other works could have been stolen and then sold several times.
"The artwork's new owner might not know it, but that work might have come from illegal origins".
On Monday, PN MPs Julie Zahra and Claudette Buttigieg raised similar concerns.
Replying, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici insisted that any works brought to Malta from abroad must be accompanied by evidence proving ownership.
The bill's second reading was approved. The bill will now go to committee before a final vote in the House.