UNLESS MALTA PROMPTLY RESPONDS TO FATF REQUIREMENTS, EXPECT OFAC SANCTIONS ON ITS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FORTHWITH

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                                 The Evacuation of the Villains from Castille by COSIMO

The Financial Action Task Force, more commonly known as the FATF, expects that the Republic of Malta will immediately begin to conform to all FATF requirements regarding Anti-Money Laundering, and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. This translates to promptly filing Bills of Indictment against both individuals, and financial entities, that have engaged in money laundering and terrorist financing, and proceeding diligently against those who have already been arrested. 

 In the event that Malta delays zealous prosecution of its principal targets, who are responsible for the Greylisting of the country, the dominant FATF members, being the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany, all intend to enact powerful sanctions, any one of which could quickly destroy the Maltese economy. While there are those in Malta who believe that such drastic action would not be taken by any European nation, be advised that the United States has consistently demonstrated, through its extensive sanctions programme, that it has no such reservations about placing crippling sanctions upon entities that it considers a national security threat. Malta's laundering of $130m from Venezuela qualifies as such, all by itself. It is a given that the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions cripple any entity it imposes an SDN sanction to. The local banks would fail.

 Should Malta's current government continue to slow-walk money laundering and corruption prosecutions, you can expect to see the US apply OFAC sanctions to all the local Maltese financial institutions, most of which were deeply involved in providing correspondent banking and US Dollar services for Pilatus Bank, or which laundered dollars embezzled from Venezuela,  or evaded international sanctions upon Iran's illicit oil sales, laundered criminal proceeds for corrupt Politically Exposed Persons (PEP), and provided financial support to Hamas, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization. 

 When Malta's banks can no longer send and receive wire transfers to the United States for their clients, those banks will experience massive client flight, and eventual insolvency. In essence, it will remove Malta's businessmen from access to American products, markets, and financial services. This will deal a fatal blow to those banks, whose closings will plunge Malta deep into a collapsing economy, from which recovery is doubtful. Don't expect the EU or IMF to loan you money to survive. Malta will be bankrupt with no solution available.

Which path shall Malta take: prosperity through reform, or economic ruin if it fails to comply ?

                                       Still no Evidence of Wrongdoing by COSIMO