Malta’s Money Laundering Cases Hit Record High – Then Dropped The Year Out-of-Court Deals Were Introduced

After a record-breaking spike in criminal money-laundering cases, a new Maltese law allows tax-related crimes and money laundering to be settled out of court.

For years, the number of money-laundering prosecutions in Malta remained relatively modest. Figures tabled in parliament by Jonathan Attard, in response to questions from Adrian Delia, show that in 2018, only 12 individuals were charged, rising slightly to 14 in 2019. 

By 2024, however, that number had surged to 116 individuals across 44 cases – the highest level on record. In 2025, the figure dropped, falling to 61 individuals across 37 cases.

	Persons Accused	Cases Opened
2018	12	8
2019	18	10
2020	29	20
2021	66	56
2022	36	30
2023	18	16
2024	116	44
2025	61	37
2026 (January)	0	0

The shift came after Malta was placed on the FATF grey list in June 2021. Malta was removed from the list in June 2022 following rapid reforms. The FATF’s recommendations focused on the transparency of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs), the effectiveness of anti-money laundering controls, and tax evasion investigations.

In 2020, standalone money-laundering cases were more common (27). However, cases accompanied by a predicate offence – which is the separate criminal act that generated the illicit funds – have increased. 

In 2021, cases accompanied by predicate offences were 87, up from just 1 in the previous year. By 2024, 114 cases were tied to predicate offences. In 2025, that number was 61. 

Year	Stand-Alone Cases	Accompanied by Predicate Offence
2020	27	1
2021	20	87
2022	17	8
2023	3	12
2024	6	114
2025	4	61
Jan 2026	0	2

The Minister’s breakdown of predicate offences identifies fraud as the primary driver of money laundering proceedings, accounting for 77 instances.

This is followed closely by: Misappropriation (39), Aggravated drug possession (17), Corruption (13), Drug Trafficking (12), Tax Evasion (11) and Organised Crime (11).

Offence	Count
Fraud	77
Misappropriation	39
Aggravated drug possession	17
Corruption	13
Drug Trafficking	12
Organised Crime	11
Tax Evasion	11
False Declaration	10
Bribery	8
Computer Misuse	8

Just as these complex, multi-charge cases peak, Malta has enacted Bill 142, which introduces a formal mechanism for out-of-court settlements for breaches of Malta’s tax laws and related crimes.

The bill was introduced and approved over 12 days in August 2025. It was tabled in Parliament on the same day as Bills 143 and 144, two parts of a controversial planning reform package that has since dominated public discourse and sparked protests.

So far, lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici, car dealer Christian Borg, and accountants Nigel and Mikaela Scerri have used the settlement mechanism in their respective million-euro tax-evasion and money-laundering proceedings.

Malta already has a significant problem with uncollected taxes. Official figures show that as of 2024, Malta has accumulated over €8 billion in uncollected tax, €6.1 billion in VAT and €2 billion in other taxes. The government has written off over €6.6 billion of that figure.

Under this framework, taxpayers may enter into agreements with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs to regularise tax offences by paying penalties and outstanding dues, thereby avoiding criminal prosecution for the offences covered by the settlement.

The mechanism also applies to certain “connected breaches” and predicate offences, linked to the tax offence, such as money laundering and fraud.

It is already being implemented. In reply to a series of parliamentary questions by MP Adrian Delia, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana confirmed that the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) has received several applications under the new law and is currently processing them. 

This will apply to all the 11 cases of tax evasion listed – and a host of other ongoing cases, including a €62 million VAT carousel fraud case.