Call for Government to take swift action on shortcomings exposed by Moneyval

The report is comprehensive, and Together Gibraltar fully expect that the analysis of the report will be a developing concern.

The party appreciates the government’s willingness, as stated in Parliament, to engage with both Opposition parties to unpack some of the findings, and looks forward to doing so, but nevertheless wishes to report our own analysis of the document so far with the public.

The assessment makes clear that while our technical competencies (i.e. our legal framework) are for the most part adequate, as a nation we have failed to execute on the measures created to counter money-laundering and terrorist financing, and there has been little in the way of prosecution of such shortcomings (to the degree that the report states that ‘the effective investigation and prosecution of Money Laundering offences remain undemonstrated.’)

Party spokesperson, Neil Samtani said: “Together Gibraltar considers this as tantamount to paying lip-service to the law and is not helped with the recent celebratory remarks
published by Government on the report. Together Gibraltar feels that the publication of this report is not a moment for backslapping or self-congratulatory sentiment.
"We believe that Government has deliberately misconstrued the findings to appear to the public more positive than they actually are. The failures identified by Moneyval impact  our reputation and good standing on the global stage, risking an already precarious economic future.”

In the current climate, where criminals and terrorists are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to transfer funds, the failure on the part of Government to suitably resource the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU) is inexcusable.

It is inevitable that a report as comprehensive as the Mutual Evaluation Report will uncover problems that we did not know about. However, there is no excuse for those failing to  tackle problems that had previously been known, yet not addressed. Deficiencies that had already been identified in the 2007 IMF Country Report No.07/157 were not suitably implemented.

In particular we have seen the risks related to cross-border transportation of cash remaining insufficiently understood. It should also be noted that we failed to ensure a risk-based allocation of resources for the supervision of lawyers and notaries, despite being featured among the highest risks identified by the 2018 National Risk Assessment.

They add that the threat of criminality associated with tobacco smuggling is clear to see (and evident on the 2018 NRA statistics), yet this matter, and the money-laundering
associated with the high volumes of cash proceeds, are not recognised as being of high risk in the National Risk Assessment. And question the Government as to why this remains a problem (and why it was not considered for appropriate severity in the NRA), when this was a matter Mr. Picardo committed to tackling when he took office 8 years ago.

GSD'S LACK OF CRITICISM

Further, it is interesting to note the GSD’s out-of-character lack of criticism of the government, in their own press statement on the subject. Together Gibraltar hopes this was not borne out of a wish not to highlight the weak controls applied by legal firms to aid in the prevention of Money Laundering. Sitting at the top of the tree, it is imperative that the legal firms set the tone for their clients and the finance sector. TG adds: While our circumstances are unique, we note with caution the parallel that can be drawn between our assessment and that of Malta, which fared marginally better than Gibraltar, yet was treated nationally and globally as being of significant concern for the jurisdiction.

Together Gibraltar commends the good work already completed and rightly recognised on the report by our legal authorities and supervisory agencies, and we have every faith in their ability to address the identified shortcomings challenge head-on.

21-02-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR