https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2025-05-14/local-news/People-implicated-in-money-laundering-have-no-place-leading-the-Malta-Stock-Exchange-PN-says-6736270096

The Minister for Finance "has no issue" with the fact that the Executive Chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange, Joseph Portelli, a government appointee, is implicated in a company linked with breaches of regulations related to money laundering, the Nationalist Party said Wednesday.

While holding this key position at the Malta Stock Exchange, Portelli also serves as a board member of a cryptocurrency company that, just over a month ago, was found guilty by the FIAU (Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit) of serious breaches of anti-money laundering regulations following an investigation. This resulted in the company being fined €1 million, the PN said.

Despite these serious facts, the Minister for Finance, the same person who appointed Portelli, has taken no action, when it was his clear duty to do so, the statement, signed by Graham Bencini, said.

By failing to act, Clyde Caruana is effectively endorsing a situation where individuals involved in questionable activities are allowed to retain sensitive public roles such as that occupied by Portelli. This further undermines trust in the governance of Malta's financial institutions.

Joseph Portelli also sits on the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council, the very body tasked with guiding Malta's financial policy, the PN said.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) had also launched a separate investigation into OKCoin, the company on whose board Portelli sits, over similar irregularities. That investigation ended with a "goodwill settlement" of €304,000 instead of a penalty truly reflecting the severity of the breaches. Such decisions only further erode Malta's credibility as a serious financial jurisdiction, the PN said.

In any European country, it would be unacceptable for a person in such a sensitive public role to also sit on the board of a company found guilty of serious breaches of money laundering regulations.

Over a month has passed since this scandal broke, the PN added. It was Clyde Caruana's clear duty as Finance Minister to remove Joseph Portelli from such a sensitive public role. Now that it is obvious the Minister has no intention of acting, the responsibility falls to Portelli himself to resign immediately in order to protect Malta's reputation as a jurisdiction, the statement said.

"It is obvious to everyone except Clyde Caruana and Joseph Portelli that Portelli's position is no longer tenable. Malta's reputation in international financial markets should not continue to be tarnished to protect a few of the Minister's close allies, nor should it be sacrificed because the Minister continues to defend those dragging the country's name through the mud with cases like these," the PN concluded.