Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said that “his track record speaks for itself” when asked whether he was happy with his investigative achievements so far.

“What I can say is that the police last year broke records when it comes to drug hauls, and murders that had not been investigated for 200 years were solved,” he said.

“But for some reason or the other, I was still criticised,” Mr Cutajar added.

Calls for the resignation of Mr Cutajar resurfaced after Pilatus Bank chairman Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad was arrested by US authorities in New York and charged with secretly funneling $115 million through the US banking system, circumventing the country's sanctions against Iran.

During a sit-in outside the police headquarters, activists said that Mr Cutajar repeatedly allowed corruption in the country by failing to thoroughly investigate the bank.

Asked for his reaction, Mr Cutajar said he would not comment on the calls for his resignation out of respect for freedom of speech.

He however noted that he could not understand why he was getting the blame when recent developments [Mr Sadr's arrest in the US] had no ties to Malta.

“If anything comes out which links Malta or that would lay the blame on me, I would understand the [resignation] calls,” he said.

Asked whether he believed that Maltese authorities should urge the Malta Financial Services Authority to revoke Pilatus Bank’s license, Mr Cutajar said it was not in his remit to comment.

He reiterated that police had made contact with US authorities regarding Mr Sadr's arrest and offered assistance to them, and confirmed that no Maltese people or institutions were involved in the case.

Mr Cutajar was answering questions from the media at the Floriana police headquarters during the inauguration of a new emergency 112 control room.