• Fewer crimes are committed than 10 years ago, despite a larger population.
• Domestic violence and sexual crimes are on the rise.
• Malta continues to criminalise and prosecute abortion.
• Meanwhile, a new law allows alleged perpetrators of tax crime, money laundering and fraud to avoid prosecution.
• High-profile corruption and homicide cases remain ongoing.
• Malta’s justice system is among the least efficient in the EU.

Malta is officially becoming safer. Theft and arson are the lowest on record. Petty crime against individuals and households is on the decline.

Yet there is more drug-related, environmental crime, while there are numerous prominent cases of corruption and white-collar crime. Justice remains slow, and Malta continues to perform poorly on the EU’s justice scoreboard.

With figures like Jon Mallia warning that the word ‘corruption’ has disappeared from the national debate, is tackling crime & justice on the political agenda?

Do voters care about crime and justice?

Crime & justice is consistently among the top 5 concerns for Maltese people in Eurobarometer surveys. 

In national surveys, the salience of the issues fluctuates over time, occasionally soaring upwards. This is especially visible in 2023, when concerns about justice and the rule of law appeared across surveys conducted by the Times of Malta, Malta Today and Eurobarometer. 

What crimes are affecting people the most right now?

Registered criminality is declining despite the boom in population and tourism. There were 18,579 crimes registered in 2005 against a population of 403,834 persons, but 15,594 crimes in 2025 against a population of 574,250 persons. As of 2025, Malta had 719 prisoners. 

The decline in criminality, however, is not even across the islands.

District 1 is marked by a particular crime risk. Four localities (Marsa, Hamrun, Valletta, Floriana) in the electoral district are classified as high- or very-high-risk localities. 

Floriana, in particular, is noted for its “extremely high” risk of vehicle-related crime (theft of or from vehicles; vandalism). In 2024, Floriana ranked at least five times higher than the national rate.

On the other end of the spectrum lies the 8th district. All its localities fall within the low-risk zone. Each other district has at least one locality with high crime risk. 

* – split localities

According to the Annual Crime Review, theft remains the most frequently committed crime, accounting for 28.4% of all offences reported to the police. However, that figure is declining, while pickpocketing cases decreased to 394. 

Damages, the second most reported offence (18.8%), experienced a slight increase between 2024 and 2025 but has generally dropped from 24.1% in 2015.

Gender-Based Violence & Femicide

Domestic violence, now the third most-reported offence, is on the rise.

Domestic violence reports have almost doubled since 2015, reaching 4,439 in 2024. One in four women in Malta reports experiencing intimate partner violence. Residents of Bormla, Santa Lucija, Valletta, Isla and Marsa (districts 1, 2 and 4) disproportionately suffer from domestic violence. 

Convictions remain low. Police issued 17,486 domestic violence charges between 2021 and mid-2025 but secured only 933 convictions, roughly one for every nineteen charges.

Sexual offences, including against minors, have been alarmingly increasing and more than doubled since 2005.

Amphora Media’s research has shown that while introducing femicide into law was a legal breakthrough, it is not enough to effectively tackle gender-based violence. A man convicted under the new femicide legislation has filed an application to challenge the law before the European Court of Human Rights.

Abortion

Abortion remains a criminal offence in Malta. This year, a woman was handed a suspended sentence for having an abortion; a doctor at Mater Dei Hospital had reported her to police after she admitted herself following heavy bleeding.

Amphora Media’s award-winning investigation has shown there were at least 2,000 self-managed abortions in Malta between 2020 and 2025. 

Abortion pill shipments into Malta had also doubled in four years, in a climate where travelling for abortion is up to 25 times more expensive. Spain has now surpassed the UK in the number of women from Malta travelling to have an abortion.

Financial Crime, Corruption & The Assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

Fraud and financial crime remain a concern in Malta. 

International scam networks with ties to Malta have avoided trial. An alleged illegal gambling network has stretched to the island, while potentially illegal practices, including operations in grey & illegal markets, are effectively protected through Bill 55.

Meanwhile, Malta has introduced an out-of-court settlement mechanism that allows people accused of tax evasion, fraud, and money laundering to avoid all criminal liability. 

It has impacted major cases, including: Aron Mifsud Bonnici, Christian Borg, and Nigel & Mikaela Scerri. The new law came into force just as money laundering arraignments were beginning to rise.

Drug trafficking, importation, and possession with the intent to supply are also growing trends. Between 2024 and 2024, there was a 47% increase in illegal hunting and trapping.

Beyond that, there have been a number of convictions involving perpetrators of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

Amphora Media reported on the financial activities of the Maksar brothers – including suspicious transactions with We Media – on which the police have never taken action.

The Vitals case, which saw major political figures like former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi, candidate Chris Fearne and others charged in court, is also still underway. A number of other criminal inquiries are still works in progress.

Allegations of corruption or abuse of public office remain commonplace. During this legislature, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, Minister Clayton Bartolo and Minister Roderick Galdes were all made to resign from their posts. MP Rosianne Cutajar was removed from the PL parliamentary group but was later reinstated.

Bartolo and Galdes are the only two who are not contesting with the Labour Party. 

How are the police and justice system resourced?

Despite sharp population and tourism increases, the number of police officers across 35 police stations, barely grew, and frontline ranks even shrank.

As of November 2024, Malta’s police force employed 2,405 people, just 32 more than in 2017, and about 500 more than in 2004, when the population was roughly 400,000. That year, the police processed nearly 87,000 reports.

The number of police officers supervising the trapping derogation is also declining, and the number of vehicles they use has halved between 2022 and 2023. In Gozo, despite its small population, the police failed to identify over half of the offending trappers.

The 2025 police budget is set at €117.3 million, more than double the nearly €53 million spent in 2013. 

Government budgetary documents indicate that the surge is primarily driven by rising overtime, allowances, and salaries, despite the police workforce expanding by only 14 personnel between 2018 and 2024.

Overtime costs have increased 860% in a decade. Allowances have more than doubled.

The government also generously spends on private security firms.

Courts Delayed, Justice Denied

A report by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation revealed that Malta has one of the highest court expenditure rates, yet one of the smallest judiciaries per capita and one of the lowest resolution rates in Europe.

According to separate data compiled by the Council of Europe, in 2022, the implemented judicial system budget of Malta amounted to €38,985,790.

Malta also has more lawyers per capita than most EU countries, but ranks third-worst in the use of digital technology by courts and prosecution services. The estimated time to resolve judicial cases in Malta is among the longest.

The Foundation’s report uncovered how Malta records an average of 6 murders per year, but only an average of 1.5 cases are concluded annually, leading to a mounting backlog of unresolved cases.

Currently, 46% of homicide cases between 2010 and 2020 remain pending, while accused persons wait at least three years for a trial date after being indicted.

A major reform has also impacted citizens’ rights. Under Bill 125, ordinary citizens can no longer directly petition a magistrate to initiate a magisterial inquiry; instead, they must file a police report and wait six months before approaching the courts.

Citizen-led inquiries made an overwhelming minority of cases and led to the arraignment of major political figures.

What to watch for:

In most localities, residents can feel safe from crimes that would target them outdoors: robberies, pickpocketing, attacks on themselves and their property. This is attributed to better policing and surveillance. On the other hand, police can help less in dealing with crimes that happen indoors, such as domestic violence and cyber scams.

Moreover, Malta is becoming safer unevenly across localities. Will the candidates running in the 1st, 10th, and 11th districts dare to confront the disproportionate burden of crime on the localities in these constituencies? Will anyone promise a separate police station for Paceville?

Police resources are stretched, and the justice system is notoriously slow and inefficient. Who will commit to a comprehensive reform?

Lawyers close to the case informed Amphora Media that the settlement agreement was presented to the courts on 27th March, thereby extinguishing the current criminal proceedings against him. 

Mifsud Bonnici was accused of money laundering, tax evasion and making false declarations in documents prepared for the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA). In July 2025, a court declared that there was enough prima facie evidence for him to stand trial.

More than €1.6 million of Mifsud Bonnici’s assets were frozen in a court order as part of the case on 23rd July 2025.

Mifsud Bonnici is an associate of former minister Konrad Mizzi and is separately facing criminal charges related to the Vitals Hospital case. 

He served as legal advisor in former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s government, an advisor in the Ministry for Energy under Konrad Mizzi, which involved discussions on the Montenegro Wind Farm Project, was the board secretary at Enemalta, and was on the Grievances Board at Transport Malta.

According to a Times of Malta investigation, the probe into Mifsud Bonnici began following a series of large transfers worth €1.4 million to XNT Limited, a Malta-based investment firm.

Financial documents seen by Times of Malta indicated that Mifsud Bonnici received payments of over €2.4 million into his personal bank accounts between 2016 and 2019. However, during those same four years, Mifsud Bonnici declared a total income of €680,000.

A separate Times of Malta investigation also revealed how Aron Mifsud Bonnici and Robert Borg raked in over half a million euros in “dividends” and “directors’ fees” from two companies involved in the publicly funded community work scheme.

In the current case, Mifsud Bonnici used a formal mechanism for out-of-court settlements of breaches of Malta’s tax laws and related crimes, introduced by Bill 142.

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 being implemented elsewhere. 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. 

The law could also have significant implications for a major tax fraud investigation involving a VAT carousel. 

In 2023, it was reported that Martin Farrugia and Henriette Cassar were accused of defrauding the VAT system, allegedly to the tune of around €62 million.

The investigation, known as Operation Panthera, reportedly covers the period 2012–2019 and encompasses companies linked to the contractor (including NCCF, MAM Construction Ltd, and MWF Construction Ltd), which are said to have under-declared substantial sales and VAT payable.

The pair have pleaded not guilty, and the case is ongoing. Amphora Media has been informed that the police are aware of businesses involved in the scheme, but all have so far evaded prosecution. 

Amphora Media has reached out to the police over the issue.

In December 2025, Farrugia was approved a variation to his freezing order to transfer four leopards and four pumas to the Pafos Zoo in Cyprus.

Another case impacted by the legislation involves Nigel Scerri and his wife, Mikaela, the owners of a tax advisory and accountancy firm. The pair have been charged with money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and other crimes, and are subject to a €15 million asset freeze.

On 11th August 2025, Malta quietly adopted Bill 142, a piece of legislation that fundamentally rewires how the Maltese State treats tax crime and everything that flows from it.

The law does not decriminalise tax evasion on paper. Instead, it introduces a “special mechanism for out-of-court settlements” that allows tax evaders to resolve fiscal breaches without criminal prosecution.

Crucially, the mechanism does not stop at tax offences. It extends to so-called “connected breaches” – meaning crimes committed alongside tax evasion, including money laundering, fraud and conspiracy.

In practice, this means that individuals accused of multiple financial crimes can resolve all of them through administrative settlement, avoiding criminal prosecution entirely.

“This bill is going to ruin the country,” a tax consultant told Amphora Media. 

The mechanism 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. 

Caruana did not say whether any fines or sanctions have yet been imposed. He also declined to provide figures on the number of individuals or companies involved, the size of those companies, or the types of businesses concerned, referring the questions to the relevant minister. 

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.

Meanwhile, the FATF had expressly noted how Malta’s ability to fight tax evasion was one of the reasons the country was placed on the grey list to begin with – and was one of the three requirements to get off it. 

Amphora Media has sent questions to MTCA Commissioner Joseph Caruana for further clarification on the figures.

Under the Bill 142 mechanism, available under certain conditions, taxpayers or companies who reach a settlement with the tax authorities may have their criminal liability for certain tax breaches extinguished after paying outstanding dues and an additional penalty ranging from €10,000 to €1,000,000.  

In return, settlement agreements will constitute an “executive title” allowing direct enforcement, while resolving and terminating related court proceedings. 

Under the settlement mechanism, once the taxpayer pays the agreed amounts, all criminal liability for the covered breaches and related connected breaches is extinguished, and any ongoing prosecutions are effectively terminated.

The changes apply to all forms of tax: Income Tax, VAT, Social Security, and Duties.

The Act also explicitly allows the Commissioner to recognise agreements entered into before the law came into force.

Connected Breaches: The Law Extends Beyond Tax Crime To Other Serious Offences

Crucially, the mechanism covers all breaches of tax laws and all “connected breaches”, that is, any criminal offences committed while breaching tax laws. 

The Act defines “connected breaches” and covers offences committed to facilitate, conceal, or profit from tax crimes, including acts forming part of a pre-concerted plan or involving the use of criminal proceeds. 

For example, a person who commits money laundering and fraud in pursuit of a tax crime can avoid criminal prosecution for all three charges. It would even extend to conspiracy and other serious crimes.

This is despite a national strategy (2021-2023) promising that “The legislative AML/CFT/CPF framework will be constantly updated to ensure adherence with international (FATF and European) standards, as well as other best practices worldwide”.

The law contains a narrow exclusion, providing that “connected breaches” do not include offences listed under Subtitle IV of Title III of the Criminal Code. 

These include offences relating to abuse of public authority, unlawful exaction, extortion and bribery, abuses committed by advocates and legal procurators, malversation by public officers and servants, prison-related abuses, refusal of a lawfully due service, and breaches of duties associated with public office.

Offences typically associated with tax evasion, fraud, and financial misconduct remain eligible for settlement.

Under the new mechanism, limitation periods for both tax offences and connected crimes are suspended while settlement negotiations are ongoing. During this period, no prosecution may be initiated.

Under articles 187A and 187B, the amendments do criminalise breaches of government settlement agreements, with potential imprisonment and further fines (limited to €2.5 million and €500,000, respectively).

However, more consequentially, article 187C stipulates that these offences can only be prosecuted following a complaint by the Commissioner.

Bill 142: A major tax reform rushed through parliament in 12 days

In its official “Objects and Reasons”, the government framed Bill 142 as a measure designed to strengthen investigative powers, improve tax recovery, and deter financial crime.

It claimed the new settlement mechanism would impose penalties comparable to those applicable in criminal proceedings, while enhancing the state’s ability to collect outstanding dues.

The law moved through Parliament in 12 days. Its first reading was held on 23 July 2025, and on 4th August, it passed its second reading, committee stage, third reading and final vote in a single day. All 38 government MPs supported the bill, while 28 members voted against it.

Bill 142 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. While those bills remain at the first reading stage, Bill 142 was approved and assented into law by 11th August.

Bill 142 implications: The lawyer, the VAT carousel, and the tax advisors

The law is already leaving its mark.

In September 2025, lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici informed the courts that he would be exploring the legal amendments enacted under Bill 142 in his case, in which he stands accused of money laundering, tax evasion, and making false declarations in documents prepared for the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA).

More than €1.6 million of Mifsud Bonnici’s assets were frozen in a court order as part of the case on 23rd July 2025.

According to a Times of Malta investigation, the probe into Mifsud Bonnici began following a series of large transfers worth €1.4 million to XNT Limited, a Malta-based investment firm.

Financial documents reviewed by Times of Malta indicated that Mifsud Bonnici received over €2.4 million in payments into his personal bank accounts between 2016 and 2019. However, during those same four years, Mifsud Bonnici declared a total income of €680,000.

Mifsud Bonnici is an associate of former minister Konrad Mizzi and is separately facing criminal charges related to the Vitals Hospital case. 

He served as a legal advisor in former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s government; as an advisor in the Ministry for Energy under Konrad Mizzi, where he participated in discussions on the Montenegro Wind Farm Project; as the board secretary at Enemalta; and as a member of the Grievances Board at Transport Malta.

A separate Times of Malta investigation also revealed how Aron Mifsud Bonnici and Robert Borg raked in over half a million euros in “dividends” and “directors’ fees” from two companies involved in the publicly funded community work scheme.

The law could also have significant implications for a major tax fraud investigation involving a VAT carousel. 

In 2023, it was reported that Martin Farrugia and Henriette Cassar were accused of defrauding the VAT system, allegedly to the tune of around €62 million.

The investigation, known as Operation Panthera, reportedly covers the period 2012–2019 and encompasses companies linked to the contractor (including NCCF, MAM Construction Ltd, and MWF Construction Ltd), which are said to have under-declared substantial sales and VAT payable.

The pair have pleaded not guilty, and the case is ongoing. Amphora Media has been informed that the police are aware of businesses involved in the scheme, but all have so far evaded prosecution. 

In December 2025, Farrugia was approved a variation to his freezing order to transfer four leopards and four pumas to the Pafos Zoo in Cyprus.

Amphora Media has reached out to the police over the issue, but they have not responded.

Another case impacted by the legislation involves Nigel Scerri and his wife, Mikaela, the owners of a tax advisory and accountancy firm. The pair have been charged with money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and other crimes, and are subject to a €15 million asset freeze.

Malta’s High-Risk Industries

A 2023 National Risk Assessment (NRA) on money laundering, referenced in the Parliament in February 2026, revealed that several key sectors remain vulnerable to financial crime despite enhanced regulatory controls.

It evaluated industries in the Financial Sector, Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), and Virtual Financial Asset Service Providers (VFASPs) based on three factors: 

• Inherent risk: how vulnerable the sector is by nature,
• Effectiveness of mitigating measures: how strong the controls and supervision are,
• Residual risk level: the remaining risk after controls are applied.

Most sectors fell within the medium-to-medium-high residual risk range. Strong controls (rated “High” or “Substantial”) reduce risk in many areas. However, in several industries, the risk level means they still require close monitoring, and some sectors remain vulnerable to money laundering and financial abuse.

Financial Institutions, Recognition Notice Framework, Corporate Service Providers (CSPs), Real Estate (Immovable Property), High-Value Goods Dealers, and Tax Advisors also fell under the medium-high risk residual risk category.

The Finance Ministry, MTCA, the Attorney General’s Office, Aron Mifsud Bonnici, Martin Farrugia, and Henriette Cassar did not respond for request for comment.

A €650,000 loan routed through a Maltese company linked to one of the country’s fish farm operators is now under scrutiny. This follows the seizure of approximately €50 million in assets tied to convicted mafia associate Emanuele Catania in Sicily.

Court documents analysed by Amphora Media and IrpiMedia reveal how Medina Ridge Holding Limited, a Malta-registered company now in dissolution, financed Emanuele Catania’s purchase of shares in Azzurra Pesca, a company that operated a tuna-farming vessel, named ‘Angelo Catania’, in 2012.

Medina Ridge Holding has had the same shareholders as Fish & Fish Limited, which holds 10 aquaculture permits and is one of Malta’s five fish farm operators, primarily dealing in bluefin tuna. 

Medina Ridge was founded in 2012, the same year it lent money to Emanuele Catania. At the time, it was owned by Emanuel Azzopardi and Joseph Caruana. Both men have since died, with their heirs now serving as the shareholders. David Azzopardi, now a minor shareholder, was the company secretary at the time of the deal and has been serving as the company’s director since 2018. 

David Azzopardi confirmed the transactions when responding to questions from journalists. He said that “any funds lent to the representative of the company for the purpose of acquiring additional shares in Azzurra Pesca Srl have either been repaid or settled through services rendered”.

“The companies I represent have a quota to manage aquaculture farms in Malta, and the business has always been conducted in compliance with legal requirements,” he said.

He stressed that neither he nor the companies he represents were aware “of any investigations or allegations against the company [Azzurra Pesca]”.

How €650,000 From Malta Ended Up in Mafia-Linked Fishing Firm

Azzopardi and Caruana took over Fish and Fish in 1996 and remained the primary shareholders until their deaths. Azzopardi and Caruana’s shares were transferred to their heirs in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

According to official documents, the €650,000 “loan” was transferred from Malta in two tranches via Bank of Valletta. A €400,000 transfer was made on 19 April 2012, followed by a €250,000 transfer on 27 July; Medina Ridge ordered both.

These sums were used to purchase the full shareholding of Azzurra Pesca for €643,000. The exact source of the €650,000 remains unknown to investigators.

Azzurra Pesca and Catania himself would later come under investigation by Italian anti-mafia prosecutors. 

Catania was convicted of mafia association for his role in helping the Rinzivillo faction of Cosa Nostra infiltrate Sicily’s legal economy and launder illicit proceeds through the seafood trade.

He was ruled to be an active member of the Rinzivillo mafia clan. He was found to have played a key entrepreneurial role in supporting the group’s infiltration of the legal economy, using legitimate businesses to launder illicit funds.

Court records describe the Catania family as long-standing operators in the fishing industry in the Southern Sicilian town of Gela, beginning with the launch of the seafood business ‘Fratelli Catania’ in 1978, represented legally by the same Emanuele Catania.

In court documents, Catania is also described as having allegedly acted as a trusted man for the Rinzivillo mafia clan, including expansions into Morocco.

A Guardia di Finanza press release has revealed that Italian police have seized assets worth approximately €50 million. This includes real estate, fishing vessels, company shares, and business complexes with operations spanning Sicily, Italy, and Morocco.

Azzurra Pesca, Fish & Fish and The ‘Angelo Catania’ Vessel

The document also names the ‘Angelo Catania’, the fishing vessel purchased with funds transferred through Medina Ridge.

David Azzopardi confirmed that Fish & Fish purchased fish from “quotas assigned annually to the fishing vessel ‘Angelo Catania’ by the Ministero dell’Agricoltura, della Sovranità Alimentare e delle Foreste and registered with ICCAT, the international governing body regulating the conservation of bluefin tuna.”

He added that the fish purchases from Azzurra Pesca Srl  “were carried out in compliance with all regulatory requirements.”

“These transactions were registered in the e-BCD system and monitored by both ICCAT observers and regional observers appointed by the Italian Government. Official documents will show that fish were purchased as part of a quota both when the assets of the company were under management and during the period when a court-appointed curator managed the company’s assets between 2007 and 2014, and then again from 2019 to 2021.”

He stressed that neither he nor the companies he represents were aware “of any investigations or allegations against the company”. 

Azzopardi says Italian or Maltese authorities have never contacted him or the companies he represents. 

Medina Ridge Holding’s corporate accounts for 2012, published around seven years late in 2019, following Catania’s 2017 arrest, appear to reflect the loan, with a €650,000 entry under “other receivables”.

There is scant record of the €650,000 beyond that year, and it could have been absorbed into a growing line of “Loans to third parties”, which ballooned over subsequent years to €4 million by 2016 and remained at that level until being fully repaid in one single year in 2020.

Meanwhile, borrowings “due to shareholders” hit €5.33 million by 2023, and were entirely waived in 2023.

Malta’s Police said it was not in a position to confirm or otherwise when asked for a response on the court documents.

Who Is Behind Medina Ridge?

At the time of the 2012 loan, Medina Ridge Holding Limited was owned by two Maltese nationals: Joseph Caruana and Emanuel Azzopardi. Both are now deceased.

The two men were the owners of Fish and Fish, one of Malta’s main fish farm operators, from 1996 until their deaths. Their shares in Medina Ridge were transferred to their heirs in May 2024.

Medina Ridge is currently in dissolution, which was announced after the heirs took over in June 2024.

The company did not publish audited financial statements for the first seven years of its operations. Accounts for 2012 were published in 2019, while accounts from 2013 to 2024 were published in 2024.