NGO REVEALS THAT ARREST WARRANTS WERE ISSUED AGAINST PILATUS BANK DIRECTORS, BUT CORRUPT MALTESE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT ARREST THEM

 Repubblika, the most active anti-corruption NGO in the Republic of Malta, has released copies of International and European Arrest Warrants for money laundering and other crimes, issued by a magistrate judge in February 2021, but never executed by the country's corrupt Attorney General and local Malta Police. The president of Repubblika, Robert Aquilina, actually laid copies of the arrest warrants at the unofficial memorial to investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, as a public show of the organization's solidarity with her anti-corruption and anti-crime campaign against the ruling Labour Party; Daphne linked the government to Pilatus' owner. Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, an Iranian national using a St Kitts Citizenship by Investment passport, who is one of the individuals named own the arrest warrants.

Pilatus, whose bank charter was revoked by the European Central Bank for its role in money laundering and financial crime, has been closely linked to Malta's disgraced former Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, who has reportedly ordered that the rogue bank's senior officials will not be arrested or charged in Malta. Muscat, though no longer in high office, continues to direct the affairs of Malta from the shadows. He did allow a minor compliance officer and the bank itself, to be charged, but not any of the senior officials named today.

The individuals against whom arrest warrants were issued, and which are outstanding and unexecuted and unserved are:

ALI SADR HASHEMI NEJAD, owner and chairman of the Board of Directors

HAMID GHANBARI, Director and former  CEO

MEHMET TASLI, CEO

LUIS FELIPE RIVERA, COO

ANTONIELLA GAUCI, Acting MLRO and Chief Accounting Officer

What effect this news will have upon not only the European Union and European Central Bank, but upon  the possibility of that sanctions will be imposed by American regulatory agencies, such as OFAC and FinCEN, is not known, but it could result in a major increase in the calculation of Country Risk at the world's international banks, and closure of the few remaining correspondent relationships, both direct and even those that are indirect, employed by Maltese Financial institutions. Compliance officers should govern themselves accordingly.

EU TO SUE MALTA IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE TO TERMINATE CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT SCHEME - OFFICIAL NOTICE

 

HOW MUCH INFORMATION DOES THE UNITED STATES HAVE ABOUT THE DAPHNE ASSASSINATION?

 

Daphne Lives by COSIMO

Observers of the pending investigation into the assassination of Maltese investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia have been asking new questions, in the aftermath of the disclosure that the country's Attorney General quietly filed a request under the Mutual Assistance Treaty with the United States.on Federal Court in the State of Delaware. We have detailed that case in an article on this blog published yesterday, entitled Malta asks United States for Financial Information about Weapons Purchases for Businessman Implicated in Daphne Caruana Galizia Assassination. If you have not previously read this article, it is suggested that you review it at this time.

According to our sources, certain United States law enforcement agencies have accumulated valuable evidence on the DCG case, including metadata, money transfer details, communication records, and other information. The reason that it has not been released is that there has never been a formal request from judicial authorities in Malta. for this data.

That may be the official reason, but in truth and in fact, it's probably something else. The US would not want to derail the current trial against the wealthy Maltese businessman, Yorgen Fenech. It seems that confidential or law enforcement sensitive information in the hands of the Malta Police often finds its way into Fenech's hands.

Also, the evidence does not just involve YF; we understand that the data involves a number of third parties who are reportedly implicated in the assassination, who were in the previous Labour government. We understand that it will eventually be released, once the YF trial, and the Malta Police indicate that investigations are closed, which is currently not the case.

Yorgen Fenech

We also have learnt that there is a second country possibly involved in acquiring DCG evidence; this could be the United Kingdom's GCHQ, Government Communications Headquarters, which monitors international comms traffic. Unfortunately, we cannot release any information we have on this data, because its importance and relevance could have a negative impact on many issues, and therefore the ends of justice. 

We shall continue to update our readers on all non-public developments as they occur, as local Maltese media is subject to a degree of self-censorship, and often declines to publish incriminating information about the Daphne defendants. We don't have any reservations about printing truth to power.    

 

MALTA ASKS UNITED STATES FOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT WEAPONS PURCHASES FOR BUSINESSMAN IMPLICATED IN DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA ASSASSINATION

The Attorney General of the Republic of Malta has filed a Mutual Assistance Treaty Request with the United States, for financial information regarding efforts to use Bitcoin in the Dark Web to illegally purchase firearms, allegedly for wealthy Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is a defendant in the assassination of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia. The case, In Re Application of the United States, is subtitled Request from Malta for Assistance in a Criminal Matter: Yorgen Fenech,  Case No: 1-22-mc-00409-UNA ( D. Del.)  

The case against Fenech, who has been in custody since 2019, is a complex criminal proceeding that resulted in the resignation of Malta's previous Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, who is considered to be a primary suspect in the conspiracy, which silenced the country's most effective anti-corruption whistleblower through the employment of a car bomb. Galizia died violently in 2017 when her automobile exploded outside her home.

Yorgen Fenech and Aron Bonnici

The case, filed in US District Court in Delaware, for an order commanding two crypto currency companies to disclose their records, involving an order from Maltese attorney Aron Mifsud Bonnici, who has appeared numerous time as Konrad Mizzi's attorney, and has been linked to Malta's Labour Party. Bonnici allegedly accessed crypto exchanges Coinbase and Poloniex, in connection with the transactions, according to court documents. 

 

 

WTF? MALTA TO PROVIDE CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ON WATER CONSERVATION IS A COVER FOR WHOSE FINANCIAL CRIME?

The announcement, that the Republic of Malta's Prime Minister, Robert Abela, has signed an agreement to provide consultancy to Antigua & Barbuda on Water Conservation, cannot be taken at face value by anyone familiar with the sordid background of both countries in the dark world of money laundering and transnational financial crime. Whilst global warming can make countries that have no prior commercial aod cultural relationship strange bedfellows, there's more to this arrangement than meets the eye, according to longtime observers of the Maltese money laundering scene.

Our scientific sources report that, not only is Malta an unlikely resource as a supplier of technical assistance to a drought-ridden nation, but that it is actually completely wasteful in the conservation of its own water resources. How any expert in the field would approve of such a consultancy on the grounds of qualifications and experience tends to confirm that there is a hidden agenda there. 

The operators of Malta's well-established money laundering scene, which is now under the EU microscope. especially from Italian law enforcement agencies, need an outlet far from European prying eyes, and Antigua, whose credentials as a convenient jurisdiction go way back, long before Allen Stanford's illicit offshore enterprise dominated island commerce, to the early 1980s, makes it an ideal location for them to move and hide the proceeds of crime, especially from corrupt activities that Maltese leaders wish to conceal from the global banking compliance community.

The covert movement of funds to Antigua, under the cover of official (meaning through the use of diplomatic passports) emissaries and the transfer of shipments containing what is labeled as "technology" can act to conceal regular bulk cash smuggling, the movement of financial instruments, or other items of value, would be efficient and eminently successful, given the rampant official corruption present in both countries. Whilst we have not as yet unraveled the specific goals of this joint-Maltese-Antiguan programme, we shall be giving it our undivided attention, from both ends of the pipeline

COURT IN SAAB MORAN CASE DENIES DEFENDANt'S REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES

The Court in in the Alex Saab Moran Miami Federal money laundering case has denied the defendant's demand for any Brady material in the hands of a number of government agencies outside the DOJ, relevant to Moran's criminal investigation, reasoning that State, Defense, Treasury and others were not involved in the investigation which resulted in his indictment. The Court did hold that, in the event that these agencies collaborated with DOJ to obtain Saab's indictment, as actually part of the prosecution team, then that material must be produced.

Here are the relevant parts of the ruling:

"Saab Moran’s indictment charges him with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Nothing in the record suggests that the Department of State and OIA were involved in the underlying investigation leading to those charges. The same is true of the NSD, the Department of Treasury, the Department of Defense, CIA, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Although the Department of Defense and U.S. Coast Guard may been involved in undertakings to protect Saab Moran in Cape Verde while his extradition was pending (see Esper Extract 21), the Government affirms that none of these four entities was involved in the investigation leading to his indictment. (See Opp. 21-22.) Even more, the Court is not convinced that the prosecutors in this case had “any authority” over these four entities. See Meros, 886 F.2d at 1309. Accordingly, the Court denies Saab Moran’s requests with respect to the Departments of Defense, State, and Treasury, the OIA, the NSD, and—to the extent asserted—the CIA and U.S. Coast Guard. 

Nevertheless, upon the Government’s admission that the following entities formed part of its Case 1:19-cr-20450-RNS Document 138 Entered on FLSD Docket 09/15/2022 Page 6 of 7 “prosecution team,” the Court grants Saab Moran’s requests as to the DEA, FBI, HSI, and ICE. The Court’s ruling applies to the extent these organizations and/or their subparts collaborated with the prosecutors in this case to procure Saab Moran’s indictment. It does not apply to material reflecting efforts made by these organizations and/or their subparts to procure Saab Moran’s extradition."  (Order at 3).

ONLY IN MALTA CAN AN INDICTED MONEY LAUNDERER LAUNCH A NEW CAREER: ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING EXPERT!

 

   

                                               "Need a good compliance officer? I am available."

It could only happen in the topsy-survey world that is the Republic of Malta. LORRAINE FALZON, a former Zenith Finance director, arrested and charged with money laundering, and other crimes, has set herself up an an AML export. She was indicted in there Spring of 2021, but given Malta's corrupt and dysfunctional court system, she may never go to trial, or the government may intentionally make a fatal mistake, and she will ultimately walk free, one or the other most likely. 

Don't hold your breath if you are looking for justice. Money launderers, unless they somehow offend the party in power in a major way, have a habit of never seeing the inside of a prison cell.

Ms. Falzon joins a consulting firm specializing in anti-money laundering, for which we are told she is eminently qualified by those who have hired her. Truer words were never spoken. Besides, she needs the money, as her assets were frozen in her money laundering case. Yes, she is an attorney, if you were wondering, but there's no indication that her law license has been suspended or cancelled. Just another day in paradise, where there is no accountability when crimes are committed, and life simply goes on as it always has in Malta. 

DID MUSCAT ORDER ABELA TO IGNORE THE ALI SADR DEMAND LETTER TO SAVE HIMSELF AND THE PILATUS DIRECTORS?

 

All Fall Down  by COSIMO

When an attorney fails to respond to a demand letter, we generally call that professional negligence, or malpractise, but when an entire country is guilty of the same gross negligence, with the expected results, it is far worse, especially when the failure to act occurs for an evil purpose. Malta's inexcusable failure to respond to a letter, sent by counsel for the owner of the now defunct Pilatus Bank, which caused Ali Sadr to bring an action through the ICISD, which ended up with a recommendation that all criminal proceedings against anyone linked to Pilatus was not only foreseeable, it was the goal of Malta's disgraced and defrocked former prime minister, Joseph Muscat, who simply wants to cheat justice one more time.

Muscat, Malta's Humpty Dumpty who, complete with broken eggshell, is seeking to repair the damages and resurrect himself politically, whilst still pulling the strings of his successor behind the scenes, could ill afford to have himself and the Pilatus Bank directors and senior officers indicted in Malta at this time. Therefore, through Abela, he engineered a solution: fix it so Malta cannot bring charges against him and the bank's money launderers, through the actions of a third party. Thus, he could comfortably cast blame elsewhere, all the while scheming to return to political power, one way or another, in the not too-distant future. 

Apparently, Muscat must have not seen the classic COSIMO drawing of his current situation. He has no chance of SuperGlueing himself back together, since the public, happy as they are to support Labour and its corrupt Champagne Socialists, won't forgive him for Daphne, and shouldn't. Send him to Elba, please, lest he order the death, or suffer it to occur, of yet another patriot, in his lust to return to the Throne.   

$10m REWARD: SAIF AL-ADEL, AL-QAEDA LEADER BEHIND EMBASSY BOMBINGS IN AFRICA

 

HAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST PROLIFIC MONEY LAUNDERERS RENEGED UPON HIS COMMITMENT TO COOPERATE WITH THE UNITED STATES?

If you have been reading our recent articles regarding unfolding developments in the US Federal money laundering case against the Colombian money launderer, ALEX NAIN SAAB MORAN, such as US Pushes back Against Alex Saab Moran's  Demands for Discover,  and is counsel for Alex Saab Moran Seeking to Create Reversible Error on Classified Information Disclosure,  you know that something has definitely changed with Moran's attorneys; they are hard at work, seeking to win the case for their client. what's wrong with this picture?

Given that Saab Moran is known to have worded extensively with US law enforcement in negotiating a plea agreement whilst abroad, error to his arrest  and extradition from Cape Verde, and that it is rumoured that he made his deal prior to his arrival In Miami, to face his money laundering indictment, what has happened? He engaged a "Dream Team" of experienced defence attorneys, who are zealously fighting the case since they came on board. has he changed his mind , and reneged upon a promise to serve up his clients, who reportedly include Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, amongst others, and for whom he moved many millions through Malta, Panama and Switzerland? 

Perhaps the final offer involved too much prison time, or required him to disgorge his wealth hidden abroad. In any event, his attorneys appear to be shooting for an acquittal, based upon his bogus diplomatic status, or on appeal should he be convicted at trial. in any event, something is definitely up with Saab; we shall be following all developments in this case as they occur; stay tuned. 

MALTA FAILS TO REIN IN RAMPANT BULK CASH SMUGGLING OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDS TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Malta watchers have noted that regular seizures of illegal cash smuggle of Euros leaving the country via the international airport have completely disappeared from crime reports, indicating that bulk cash smugglers have shifted their operations to new strategies and tactics to successfully move their criminal proceeds into the Middle East. For some time, local law enforcement, using currency-sniffing dogs, had been interdicting cash smuggling, sometimes on close to a daily basis, but there is now a total absence of seizures at MLA. 

Cocaine and heroin seizures continue to be made, which confirms that the bulk cash smuggling of Euros is mainly a laundering operation by narcotics traffickers; hard drug usage is rising amongst the Maltese in recent years, which some have attributed to the population's dissatisfaction with an increase in crime, coupled with the ruling Labour Party's indifference to rampant corruption, both of which have contributed to massive deficit spending, leaving future generations of Maltese to cope with a growing national debt which could seriously affect the economy.    

In any event, bulk cash smugglers appear to have found more effective routes through which illicit profits are moved abroad. Most of the seizures that previously were interdicted were destined for Turkey, but their ultimate destination of unknown, though the relationship between the Maltese Mafia and its Sicilian counterpart in drug trafficking lends support for the theory that much of the smuggled cash was intended for Italy. 

CRIMINAL ORGANISATION USED ST. KITTS DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS FOR HUMAN SMUGGLING INTO THE EU

 

A sophisticated organized crime human trafficking operation that employed diplomatic passports of St. Kitts & Nevis to bring their Iraqi clients into the European Union, where they then claimed asylum, was broken up by the law enforcement agencies EUROPOL and EUROJUST, which made arrests of the participants. The scheme, which involved the use of private jets whose stated destination was the Caribbean, but which then made stops within the EU, where the illegal migrants identified themselves to authorities as Iraqi and Kurdish nationals, and then applied for asylum,  reportedly charged each client €10,000. The individuals were not bona fide diplomats. 

There were reportedly five separate documented landings with illegal migrants using as SKN diplomats. in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium. A total of three arrests have been made, and two individuals remain art large. Two private jets, valued at more than €400,000, were seized in Belgium by police, in conjunction with arrest warrants. 

The illicit sale of diplomatic passports by the five countries in the East Caribbean states that participate in Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passport programmes has plagued the financial world for some time, as  financial criminals and money launderers employ those valuable documents to facilitate transnational crime, often with impunity.  Corrupt local government officials in St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia and Grenada allegedly sell them the diplomatic passports for cash, generally in US Dollars.

US PUSHES BACK AGAINST ALEX SAAB MORAN'S DEMANDS FOR DISCOVERY

The US Attorney's Office in Miami has objected to the motion, filed by counsel for accused Colombian money launderer, ALEX NAIN SAAB MORAN, for additional discovery, classifying it as Brady vs. Maryland* material, from a number of US Government agencies*, as "a pure fishing expedition for things that cannot constitute Brady material, and the material sought cannot deem Saab Moran immune from prosecution."

In a filing co-signed by a representative of the DOJ Criminal Division in Washington, and captioned  United States' Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Compel Production of Discovery Materials, the Government points out:

1. the Government has already provided all the material it has in response to its Brady  and Discovery obligations (Response at 3).

2. Two courts in Cabo Verde "considered and rejected Moran's claims of Diplomatic Immunity (Response at 4). To reconsider those decisions would violate the Act of State Doctrine (Response at 5).

3. Saab's extradition therefore did not violate Due Process.

4. Therefore, the Discovery sought "are unable to yield any information that would be material to his guilt, innocence, or any punishment" (Response at 5). 

Saab does not have immunity in the United States under the Diplomatic Relations Act, and any Discovery that mentions him, provided in response to his request for additional information does not fall within  ther scope of Brady material.

________________________________________

* Departments of State, Defense, Justice and Treasury.

BARBADOS PERMITS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT, THE EXTORTIONIST AND FRAUDSTER WINSTON CLARKE, TO EXPLOIT BAJANS WITH IMPUNITY

For those readers who are wondering why career criminal WINSTON CLARKE, with his 40 prior felony convictions and a pending counterfeiting case, is allowed to attempt to practise law without a license or any university education, it is because this career criminal has a direct line to senior government officials, including PM Mottley, whom he keeps informed on the activities of the country's opposition. Barbados, which is essentially a one-party state, is ruled with an iron fist, and its leader brooks no dissent or reform movement amongst its citizens. He is reporting on the growing reform movement in Barbados to the corrupters themselves.

Clarke, a purported "social activist", and who claims that he is qualified to represent Bajans seeking to recover their real estate inheritance, accepts fees, but thereafter neglects their cases, with the result that the lands fall into the hands of unethical local attorneys skilled in fraud, counterfeiting, creating bogus title documents and taking possession through illegal tactics and methods. He is closely linked to lawyers known to be stealing properties through manipulation of estates that they are charged to administer, using dilatory tactics and acquiring valuable properties that they covet.

Having an extensive IT background, Clarke has been known to obtain favors from his victims through the threat of public exposure of naked photographs he creates using computer programmes.  We have been advised that, after this blog exposed his exploitation of Bajans seeking legal assistance, he created a bogus nude photograph of this blogger, and circulated it in Barbados, to discredit this blog. He defames upstanding citizens through threatening letters.

Clarke, who also runs a bogus charity, which distributes money and essentials to needy Bajans, which does not appear to have a legitimate source of funds and may be a money laundering operation. He allegedly uses the charity to obtain sexual favors from vulnerable women as well as members of Barbados' gay community, and threatens to blackmail them if they don't comply. 

Clarke spends a great deal of his time collecting "rents," during periods which are generally not known to be the normal collection period, giving rise to rumours that he is involved in an illicit activity. He is closely linked to a Jamaican national known to be involved in the drug trade, and Clarke randomly receives calls from Bajans, which he claims are in connection with a construction business.

Clarke is clearly a clear and present danger to all Bajans attempting to assert their legal rights to real estate that they have the right to through inheritance. He is to be avoided at all costs!

 

REMEMBERING 9/11/2001

 

IS COUNSEL FOR ALEX SAAB MORAN SEEKING TO CREATE REVERSIBLE ERROR ON CLASSIFIED INFORMATION DISCLOSURE?

I have to admit that the recent filing of defense counsel in US vs. Alex Saab Moran,  the complex Miami Federal money laundering cased involving the alleged international laundryman for Venezuela's president and others, has me puzzled. I cannot quite figure out the goal of the Response, which deal with the Classified Information Procedures Act, covering the use of classified information at the Moran trial.

Defense counsel has filed a scholarly nine-page memorandum of law, with profuse citations, detailing many aspects of the CIPA, and the government's obligations thereunder. Buried in the document is this passage:

... CIPA “does not itself create a privilege against discovery of classified information.” In that case, the District Court had concluded certain classified material was not discoverable under CIPA as “it was not subject to discovery under Brady v. Maryland.” Id. at 454. The court of appeals considered the merits of this conclusion de novo and disagreed based upon its earlier ruling in United States v. Yunis, 867 F.2d 617, 621 (D.C. Cir. 1989), where the court had given “content to the classified information privilege” by adopting the test applied by the Supreme Court in Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53, 60-61 (1957)—the material must be “at least helpful to the defense of [the] accused.” Mejia, 448 F.3d at 455 (internal quotation marks omitted).3 As the Mejia court went on to explain, “[w]hile Brady information is subsumed within the larger category of information that is ‘at least helpful’ to the defendant, information can be helpful without being ‘favorable’ in the Brady sense.” Id. at 456-457. See also United States v. Aref, 533 F.3d 72, 80 (2d Cir. 2008) (“[t]o be helpful or material to the defense, evidence need not rise to the level that would trigger the Government’s obligation under Brady v. Maryland [citation omitted] to disclose exculpatory information.”). Response at 7.

Is this an effort to point out that classified information that falls short of being "favorable" to the defense, which would be required to be disclosed under Brady vs. Maryland,  must still be disclosed if it is "helpful?" and is it a ploy to create reversible error, or even grounds to set aside a guilty verdict ? We cannot say, but counsel has gone to great efforts to document this in the record. Given the fact that the Government most likely has an excellent case, it may be setting up grounds for an appeal. There may also be issues we are not aware of, regarding unindicted co-conspirators whose role might be exposed in the classified information.

In any event, should the case go to trial, expect the unexpected. Of course, there is always the recurring rumor regarding Saab's continued cooperation with US law enforcement, which we know began when he was a fugitive from justice, seeking to make a deal for an ultimate reduced sentence. Some sources assert that he renewed the arrangement when he was extradited to Miami. Is his entire defense a cover for the rendering of covert Substantial Assistance? We cannot say, but the case is certainly not boring for legal observers.  

IS MALTA ABOUT TO REACH ITS TIPPING POINT TOMORROW?

 

Which of these individuals has quietly made international travel plans ?

Whether tomorrow's protest march in Malta signals that the country is on the brink of reaching its Tipping Point is an issue that needs to be explored. A Tipping Point occurs when series of small changes or incidents become significant enough to cause a larger, more important change. The open sore that is the Pilatus Bank scandal, compounded by the new Electrogas disclosures, threatens to break wide open into open public hostility against the ruling Labour Government. 

Where it goes we cannot predict, but it is certain that a number of sacrificial lambs, meaning minor players in the country's network of criminal elite will most certainly be offered up to appease the discontented public. The question is, will it be enough, or will opposition to rampant corruption and financial crime, all at the cost of the Maltese taxpayer, take a more direct, vocal and assertive, route ?

With public cynicism at an all-time high, and the prospect of harsh economic times, with the post-EU crackdown on offshore tax regimes, looming on the horizon, things may tend to get very nasty very quickly. We wonder who will survive unscathed, and we are sure that Brussels will be watching tomorrow's events very closely.

READ THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN MALTA AND AZERBAIJAN-CONTROLLED COMPANY IN ELECTROGAS

Inasmuch as Maltese media have declined to publish the Agreement in full, due to its size, we are presenting it on this blog, as a public service. Our thanks to the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation for securing it, against all odds, and to The Shift News for making it available. Readers may wish to enlarge the document on their desktops, as the image quality does not lend itself to laptop review.

NATIONAL PROTEST TOMORROW IN MALTA AGAINST GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO MAKE ARRESTS IN PILATUS BANK MONEY LAUNDERING AND ELECTROGAS CORRUPTION SCANDALS

Tomorrow, September 6, 2022, a National Protest March against Corruption will take place in the Republic of Malta, whose government has refused to arrest prominent members of the ruling Labour Party, in connection with rampant corruption and money laundering in the Pilatus Bank and Electrogas scandals. Public sentiment against the government exploded this week, after the disclosure of a secret agreement with a government-controlled company in Azerbaijan  which was extremely favourable to that corporation, and allegedly resulted in massive bribes and kickbacks to senor Maltese officials, and major financial exposure by Malta.

Sponsored by the social activist NGOs REPUBBLIKA and OCCUPY JUSTICE, and manueldelia.com, the protest march, arriving at the Great Siege Square, at  which time there will be a live reading of a Magistrate's order requiring law enforcement to make arrests in the case of money laundering, in the hundreds of millions of US Dollars, by Pilatus Bank, which have never occurred.

These two scandals, which have resulted in compliance officers at international banks, especially in the European Union, to regard financial transactions with Maltese financial institutions and companies as high-risk, and increase Country Risk accordingly, have permanently stained Malta's reputation in the view of the EU and EC, and resulted in high-risk designation by the United Kingdom. Unless genuine reform takes place, Malta could face additional international sanctions, especially by the United States, specifically OFAC. and punitive actions by the European Union.