The FATF's decision to greylist Malta is the direct fault of the Labour government, Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday.
Speaking during a telephone interview, he said that although Prime Minister Robert Abela and finance minister Clyde Caruana said the government had worked hard for the past year-and-a-half to ensure that the country is not greylisted, the Financial Action Task Force still voted to greylist Malta.
On Wednesday, the FAFT voted to greylist Malta and the country was officially put on the grey list on Friday
Reacting to the news earlier in the week, Grech had said this was a "punishment for the entire nation".
“This means that the government made so many mistakes, that the year-and-a-half of hard work was not enough. It is clear that what happened is the Labour government's fault,” he said.
Grech said the government had continued to destroy the island’s credibility.
“Despite the number of regulations and laws that have been put in place for the financial sector, Abela had continued to defend a number of decisions which destroyed our reputation,” Grech said.
These included his defence of the electrogas contract, and the appointment of Former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna as Central Bank governor, when he is facing a criminal inquiry over his handling of the hospitals privatisation deal.
“Robert Abela continues to take the wrong decisions, decisions which will ultimately affect the country," he said adding that there is no quick fix to the grey list decision.
"Credibility is broken easily, but takes time to build again, and that is why it is important for everyone to do their part."
Grech also called for the setting up of a national task force, which would involve financial crime experts, social partners and representatives from both political parties, to work together to limit the damage caused by the decision.
Asked whether Abela had reached out to the opposition about this, Grech said the Prime Minister lacked the "courage or strength" to seek the opposition's assistance.
"The Prime MInister continues to be hard-headed and is not interested in solving the country's problems," Grech said.
He added that he will be bringing up the issues that led to Malta's greylisting in parliament on Monday.
COVID-19: Let's remain vigilant
On the COVID-19 situation, Grech said that while the country is seeing a low number of new cases and regulations are being relaxed as a result, it is important these continue to be followed.
This is especially so with the arrival of more tourists, he said.
"I hope the numbers will continue to be low, but we have to work together as a country."
He said that when the government started to take note of what health experts were saying, the country started to control the pandemic.
"Back in January we were saying that the government has to have a proper plan, including full screening at the airport. We had then been ignored, but the proper screening is now in place," Grech said.