Over 200 delegates attended last week’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Financial Crime Conference, organised by ARQ Group and the Malta Bankers’ Association (MBA).
The theme of the one-day conference was ‘The Road to Meaningful Reform.’ Focus was laid on the findings and actions resulting from Moneyval’s fifth round of evaluation of Malta as well as the need to restore Malta’s reputation in this sector.
Manfred Galdes, ARQ managing partner, opened the conference. He said: “We need to ask ourselves whether our collective actions are just going to be driven by the desire to get international monitoring bodies off our backs, or whether the ultimate goal will be that of actually deterring criminals from approaching our financial system and of making sure that they are punished and the funds confiscated if they commit a crime.”
Marcel Cassar, MBA chairman, highlighted that the focus of the conference was to assess the road to meaningful reform. The event was also addressed by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.