A woman accused of being part of a “professional” money laundering set-up for clients like former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri has reinvented herself as an anti-money laundering expert.
Former Zenith Finance director Lorraine Falzon was among a group of 11 people arrested and charged with a raft of financial crimes in March 2021.
Falzon, together with fellow director Matthew Pace, is alleged to have helped Schembri and his associates launder money via Zenith.
All involved deny any wrongdoing and the case is still ongoing.
Seven months after being released on bail, Falzon started touting herself as an anti-money laundering consultant.
On LinkedIn, Falzon cites her 14 years as a money-laundering reporting officer at Zenith as having given her “extensive experience” in designing policies to mitigate money-laundering risks.
She is said to be acting on a “self-employed, sub-contractor basis” for 3Sixty Core Consultants. According to 3Sixty Core’s website, the main service provided is consulting services on compliance with anti-money laundering laws.
Falzon, whose assets are frozen due to the money-laundering case, did not respond to a request for comment.
One financial services industry source said Falzon has been offering seminars and training on money-laundering prevention to companies regulated by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, Malta’s anti-money laundering body.
FIAU fine
Zenith was slapped with a €38,750 fine by the FIAU in 2018 for breaching a number of anti-money laundering laws.
During the period covering the fine, Falzon was in charge of ensuring Zenith complied with these laws and was not used for money laundering.
Zenith, Falzon and Pace were all charged with money laundering and complicity in criminal acts.
3Sixty Core’s contact address is the same used by law firm Sciberras Advocates.
'Prowess and dedication'
When contacted, lawyer and accountant Adrian Sciberras said 3Sixty Core is a project he started towards the end of 2021.
He said he had known Falzon from a few years back, recognising her “prowess and dedication in her work”.
“Therefore, I approached her and offered her to be part of my team for this project.
“She started working on this project on a self-employed, sub-contractor basis and, even though it is still in a start-up phase, she has confirmed that she has the right acumen and professionalism in her work,” Sciberras said.
Prior to teaming up with Falzon, Sciberras has acted as a court-appointed administrator in an unrelated money-laundering case.
Sciberras said he had only performed that job for a brief period between April and June 2021, prior to setting up 3Sixty Core.
“I confirm that I performed the court-appointed job from my legal practice and that I am no longer court-appointed in any particular position.”
He further added that neither he nor any of his associates are actively engaged with any political party and he adopts a practice of “non-partisanism” and his firm does not have any clients that are politically connected.