As against 1679 suspicious activity reported in 2018, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of Malta said it received 2,778 reports in 2019. This was disclosed by the FIAU Deputy Director Alfred Zammit who also stated that the reports involved 70 highly qualified officials. The last FIAU report showed that while banks and remote gaming companies reported the most suspicious activity among their client, professionals like lawyers, auditors and others in the financial services sector do not feel obliged to report suspicious activity without minding the legal obligations to do so. President Wayne Pisani of the Institute of Financial Practitioners has encouraged the authorities to provide more feedback on the result of suspicious activity reports as the reports can be used as a template for analytical reports sent to the police as soon as the FIAU establish any suspicious criminal activity. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has pledged to set up a new financial crimes agency to “break the police’s monopoly” when it comes to prosecutions.
