The biggest beneficiaries of the money-laundering reforms, which will prohibit wide-reaching asset freezes on money laundering suspects, and which are being rushed by the government are not only needed to cover up for Joseph Muscat and Christian Borg.
They are ultimately needed for Robert and Lydia Abela themselves and this is also why the Labour government will be very uncompromising in these reforms. Most of the criminals in the Labour Party are in the same boat, and this reform is in all of their interests, but Robert Abela is looking out more for his interests than his criminal friends and partners. The Labour government is proposing exceptions for drug dealers and political corruption to the prohibition of asset freezes, neither of which may apply to Robert and Lydia Abela. Ultimately, Robert Abela will look out for himself.
Lydia Abela has been historically and regularly used by her husband Robert as his own money-laundering mule. Indeed, payments made to Robert Abela for his insider trading deal at the Planning Authority with Christian Borg were made to Lydia Abela. Christian Borg’s proceeds came from his drug business, mainly cocaine import and distribution. Then there is also the case in which Robert Abela bought two properties in Gozo with undeclared proceeds through Lydia Abela’s bank account. Robert and Lydia Abela have a very simple and historically recorded money laundering trail of Christian Borg’s illegal proceeds going to their accounts and Bank of Valletta does not apply the same AML standards on the Abela couple that it applies to most of the rest of the customers. Baknk of Valletta has failed to report the money-laundering activities of the Abela couple to the FIAU and the bank is in clear breach of AML standards.
So, this law will ultimately cover Robert and Lydia Abela. They are covering themselves because the prosecutor would be able to freeze only the equivalent amount of funds that can be proven to have been laundered, effectively giving the prosecutor and the police a very difficult near to impossible task to freeze all their assets when suspected of money laundering.
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