A dedicated team within Malta’s anti-money laundering unit, the FIAU, is being set up to enforce a recently imposed €10,000 limit for cash transactions on high-value goods.
This limit, introduced in March, applies to immovable property, antiques, jewellery, vehicles and works of art.
In a media briefing about the unit’s work last year, FIAU officials confirmed that the new team will be carrying out onsite inspections to ensure the cash limit is enforced.
Last year saw a record number of 5,175 suspicious activity reports filed with the FIAU. The FIAU, in turn, shared 4,535 intelligence reports with national and international bodies.
Valletta mayor Alfred Zammit said on Wednesday that he was forgiving a man who allegedly set fire to his car last September and whom he knew as a child.
Zammit was testifying in proceedings against Brentley Pace, a 21-year old storekeeper, who is pleading not guilty to four arson attacks in Valletta, over a five-month span, the last case targeting the mayor’s BMW 520d.
“I knew Brentley as a child. I know his parents and grandparents. I know he has a good family background. I remember him on the streets of Valletta. I know him well,” said Zammit.
Recalling that evening of September 24, Zammit explained how he had returned home at around 11pm, after parking his car at a reserved spot in the Hastings car park.
The Financial Intelligence and Analysis Unit is not planning to revise downwards any of the administrative fines it has imposed, despite a recent court ruling s
Valletta businesses hoping Christmas will be ‘season to be jolly’
Valletta businesses hope that last-minute Christmas shop bonanza will turn a miserable year into a somewhat more agreeable one
16 December 2020, 7:33am
by Paul Cocks
“Late night shopping would lure Maltese shoppers back to Valletta, at least in the evenings after work. And our other businesses, including catering establishments, bars and pubs, would keep those shoppers in the capital for even longer”
Valletta businesses are hoping that a last-minute Christmas shopping bonanza will turn an otherwise miserable year into a somewhat more palatable one, despite lower sales levels than previous years across the board.
Valletta arsonist drove scooter as he set cars on fire
Court hears how man riding electric scooter, wearing a hoodie and a backpack carried out a string of arson attacks in Valletta
16 December 2020, 5:57pm
by Matthew Agius
A court has heard how a man on an electric scooter, wearing a hoodie and a backpack, was thought to be behind a string of arson attacks in Valletta, one of which had targeted the mayor’s car.
The first sitting of the compilation of evidence against Brentley Pace, 21, took place on Tuesday. Pace is pleading not guilty to four arson attacks in the capital.