The American compliance community had high hopes that the incoming Biden Administration would make good on its promises to target and indict wealthy American businessmen involved in corrupt practices in the massive hospital privatization scandal in January 2021; it had implored the DOJ to charge the offenders with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering offenses, without success, and had received assurances that officials in the corrupt "Champagne Socialist" government in Valletta would also be targeted.
After January 20, 2021, the severe disappointment felt, not only in the private sector here, but also in America's law enforcement and intelligence communities, when the DOJ, and SDNY ignored pleas for action, receiving instead platitudes regarding the existence of other priorities. In short, America dropped the ball, big time, in pursuing, multiple targets, up to and including the former and present prime ministers, and ignoring expanding terrorist financing, using both legacy and cryptocurrency, that resulted in millions of dollars being funneled to HAMAS, aiding and abetting in preparations for the subsequent attack on Israel. The risk adverse DOJ just couldn't be bothered with such a prime target, as it was sitting within a backwater of the European Union, notwithstanding the National Security threats.
After experience, the compliance world lost respect for the DOJ, and went back to their AML/CFT duties sadder but wiser.
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