The government’s poor track record in the fight against money laundering was putting at risk thousands of jobs in the financial services industry, Opposition leader Adrian Delia warned on Saturday.

In an interview on NET FM, Dr Delia pledged that the Nationalist Party would strive to take all necessary measures to protect employees in the sector.

Rather than addressing the problems, the government was taking the situation lightly, citing the Finance Minister’s recent remark that “every country had such problems to deal with” as testament to such an attitude.

Referring to the Moneyval report issued last Thursday, Dr Delia said this was just the last in a series of damning evaluations on the government’s conduct in the fight against money laundering. All this is having lasting repercussions on the economy especially the financial services and the gaming sectors.

government’s statement that it welcomed the Moneyval report was further proof that the government was not taking matters seriously and had no intention to take drastic measures to restore the Malta’s reputation- Adrian Delia

The PN leader said that government’s statement that it welcomed the Moneyval report was further proof that it was not taking matters seriously and had no intention to take drastic measures to restore Malta’s reputation.

“We will keep harping on the government on those areas which need addressing to take the necessary decisions,” Dr Delia said. He added that urgent action had to be taken as Malta was increasingly earning the reputation of a tax haven.

The PN leader warned that the Moneyval report could have serious consequences, while noting that government had only a few months left to act in order to avoid being blacklisted.

Cost of living and workers' spending power

In his address, Dr Delia also expressed concern on recent statistics showing Malta had the least wage increases in the EU.

This is happening while the cost of living was rising, especially essential products and services like fuel, food and rent rates.

The PN leader reiterated his criticism of the government’s economic policy which he said was to increase consumption through a population rise. This was causing a lot of strain on the country’s infrastructure, transport and the environment to the detriment of the quality of living.