LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – In its latest biannual report to the Italian Parliament, Italy’s anti-mafia unit DIA (Direzione Investigattiva Antimafia) declared that Maltàs favourable tax regime and the easy regulations to set up a new business “allows the various clans to carry out profitable money laundering activities”.
The report which was highlighted by the weekly newspaper Maltatoday mentions specifically the strong ties that the Sicilian mafia and the ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria have in Malta also considered as a base for fugitives.
The DIA report mentions regularly the Santapaola-Ercolano clan for their connections with Malta and is now believed that they use Malta as a base for its fugitives.
“In March 2021, a police operation revealed subjects who, in order to promote the interests of the Santapaola-Ercolano family, had created on the internet a special gaming platform, not authorized to operate in Italy, attributing its ownership to a Maltese company. Some police operations, concluded over the last few years, testify that crime from Puglia, like the other mafia operations, is interested in the illicit gaming market, with proceeds allowing the acquisition of corporate shareholdings, financial assets, vehicles, boats, luxury accessories, and real estate. As happened in the past, the Maltese territory could continue to be exploited by clans mainly linked to the mafia for its fugitives.”
Various operations conducted by the Italian investigators revealed the real connections of mafia clans with Malta, Italy, and other European countries.
In 2021, €80 million in assets were seized from an online sports betting operation in Malta, Germany, Poland, and Italy. During operation ‘Doppio Giocò, the Maltese company involved with the Santapaola-Ercolano clan was alleged to have facilitated the evasion of €32 million in taxes. The Italian finance police said the Maltese companies laundered over €62 million through the acquisition of land and buildings. The crime group used one of their associates, living in Sliema, as a director for various companies and gaming websites, who would smuggle hard cash from Sicily by car from other mafia associates travelling aboard the Virtu Ferries catamaran. The Italian investigators managed to tap a telephone call as they drove around Sliema, St Julian’s, and Valletta: “Wève reached the peak now here… It’s no longer the Malta we once knew,” says one woman identified as Ilda, a resident of Malta, to a mafia associate.
Previous links between the Santapaola-Ercolano clan were confirmed in Operation ‘Dirty Oil’, the 30 million oil smuggling ring that saw the arrests of Maltese nationals Darren Debono and Gordon Debono, and Italian associate Nicola Orazio Romeo described by prosecutors as someone employed “to further the business interests of the Santapaola-Ercolano family”.
Another investigation, Operation ‘Gaming Offlinè, includes Romeo who was acting on behalf of Santapaola-Ercolano clan. He was accused of a conspiracy of money laundering that used Malta as one of the bases for a gaming company.
Barìs Parisi clan was also linked to Malta with complex cases of tax fraud and money laundering, oil smuggling, extortion, drugs trafficking, and gun trafficking. “In Italy, the Parisi clan are well placed within the business, economic and social context, particularly in animal slaughter and meat processing industries through the control of cooperatives and private companies, and in catering.” Italian anti-mafia police believe the Parisi clan has generated at least €170 million in tax fraud using fictitious VAT credits claimed on inexistent financial transactions.
In Catania, the Cappello-Bonaccorsi, and Laudani clans, are said to control the international drug trafficking route from Rosarno, controlled by the ‘Ndrangheta, just outside the Goia Tauro port to Malta. “This transnational organization planned to import cocaine from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Spain and was able to supply it to the most important local dealerships and Malta. The Rosarno-Catania connection highlights the ties between the Rosarnesi and the Cappello clan of Catania, whose historical origins mean business between the two groups has been going on for several years.”
The Malta connection extends to both the Cappello-Bonaccorsi clan and the Santapoala-Ercolana family, on a large drug trafficking route from Albania to the Netherlands, as well as Calabria and Puglia in southern Italy. “The investigation allowed us to outline the role played by some prominent figures of different mafia families within the Etna region’s criminal scenario… Once again the centrality of the business leads to often rival criminal organisations choosing to coexist on the same territory, renouncing violence and bloody conflicts in favour of business.”
In December 2021, the police in Catania arrested 16 persons in connection to cocaine and cannabis trafficking from Sicily to Malta, with the involvement of Albanians and Maltese. “The narcotics departed from Albania and transited from Puglia and reached Ispica, which hosts an operational base of the organisation, and then passed on from Calabria for resale to Malta, Lombardy, and also on the Sicilian market, specifically the provinces of Syracuse and Ragusa.”
Specifically, the Italian DIA believes much of this trafficking to Malta is coordinated by the Mazzaferro ‘ndrina. “The aforementioned operation reaffirms the highly favourable contiguity between the island of Malta and Sicily for illicit trafficking, as is also apparent from the ‘Alter Egò drug operation of November 2021 which outlined the role of prominent figures of the Santapaola and Cappello families, highlighting the reports, contacts, and dynamics on the trafficking of large quantities of drugs and their supply, for subsequent sale to Maltese collectors”.
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(ITALPRESS)

Source: medNews

MILAN (ITALPRESS/MNA) – “Tunisia is the gateway to the Mediterranean. Tunisians are a welcoming people who have repeatedly shown that they stand by friendly peoples. However, we must face the intimidating maneuvers against our country responsibly and in compliance with the law. We do not tolerate what is happening”. This was stated by Kamel Ghribi, President of the GKSD Investment Holding group regarding the influx of sub-Saharan irregular migrants in Sfax, who was quoted by the Tunisie Numerique website.
Ghribi also raised the alarm about the disastrous consequences on the Mediterranean and the neighboring countries facing this situation. Finally, he recalled that, in accordance with the conditions established by international law, the rights of threatened refugees are always guaranteed.
-photo GKSD –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta registered a deficit of €103.5 million at the of May, while the Government debt stood at €9,083.6 million. This is an increase in debt of €673.8 million when compared to May last year.
According to current forecasts, Maltàs debt ratio is set to increase to 55.3% by 2025. The EU’s Maastricht Criteria state that the ratio of gross governance debt to GDP must not exceed 60%, otherwise the country will enter the Excessive Deficit Procedure. However, the Maastricht Criteria are due to be reassessed in 2024.
Government’s total recurrent revenue at the end of May 2023 stood at €2,454.8 million, while the total expenditure at €2,558.3 million. These represent an increase of €325.4 million and €55.3 million respectively. While expenditure has consistently been higher than recurrent revenue since at least 2003, the difference between the two increased significantly during the pandemic, peaking at €673 million in 2020, and only now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Recurrent revenue was sourced mainly from income tax, value added tax, and social security, amounting to 78.4% of the total. Respectively, they contributed 36.5%, 21.4%, and 20% of recurrent revenue. Expenditure was spent mostly on programmes and initiatives (53.7%), personal emoluments (17.7%), contributions to government entities (11.6%), and capital expenditure (8.7%).

– photo agenziaFotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The occupancy at Maltàs prison is the least overcrowded in the European Union, with an occupancy rate of around 65% of its total capacity. According to new data released by Eurostat, Maltàs prison was the lowest in the EU, followed by Estonia and Latvia, which both had a prison occupancy rate of 66%. Cyprus had the highest prison occupancy rate in Europe at 146%, followed by Romania (116%) and France (114%). In a 2021 report, however, the National Audit Office flagged overcrowding as one of the persistent issues at the Corradino Correctional Facility, saying that the 474 cells should ideally each house just one person. The NAO found that the sharing of cells had become common practice, with one dormitory housing 140 inmates. It added that a planned €1.5 million investment that would add 100 cells to the prison would not be enough to afford prisoners ideal living standards. In total, there were 475,038 imprisoned people in the EU, equivalent to 106 prisoners per 100,000 people. When compared to the population, Malta had the ninth-highest prisoner population in Europe with 118.97 prisoners per 100,000 people. Maltàs prison population stood at a total of 614 in 2021, falling from 864 in 2020.
The highest rates of imprisoned people in Europe in 2021 were registered in Hungary and Poland, which both had a rate of 191 prisoners per 100,000 people, followed by Slovakia with 185 prisoners per 100,000 people. The lowest rates were recorded in Finland (51 per 100,000), Slovenia (65 per 100,000) and the Netherlands (65 per 100,000).
(ITALPRESS).
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Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – In the yearly report compiled by the US Department of State on human trafficking, Malta’s position remained almost the same as it was in the last five years. While sex traffickers take advantage on locals and foreign citizens, those involved in various industries exploit others from Eastern Europe, Central America, China, and Southeast Asia mainly the Philippines. According to the United States, Malta is still failing to satisfy its minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. The report noted that Malta failed to convict any traffickers, even though significant efforts were noted during 2022, including investigations and prosecutions of more suspected traffickers, increase in funds for victim assistance, and an extensive awareness campaign on human trafficking. Moreover, the Maltese government did not report identifying any Maltese, children, asylum seekers, or undocumented migrants as trafficking victims and lacked coordination among ministries, and it had never awarded restitution or compensation to any trafficking victims. The report added, “the government did not effectively enforce labour regulations to prevent recruitment fees charged to workers, which increase workers’ vulnerability to trafficking, or make concrete efforts to increase oversight and regulation of massage parlours where there was a higher incidence of trafficking indicators”. Many women from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Ukraine are mostly found working in nightclubs, while Asian women are recruited in massage parlours. The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking and NGOs reported a lack of oversight and regulation on the licensing of massage parlours. The report also noted that with approximately 9,000 refugees and 4,000 asylum seekers residing in Malta, these are vulnerable to trafficking in Malta’s informal job market, specifically in the construction, hospitality, and domestic work sectors. Malta’s penalties for trafficking – six to 12 years imprisonment – are said to be sufficiently stringent. In 2022, the police vice squad opened 12 new investigations; seven for sex trafficking and five for labour trafficking. This is a slight increase compared with nine investigations initiated in 2021, but less than the 16 new investigations initiated in 2020. Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s office initiated criminal proceedings against six suspects for sex trafficking, an increase compared with zero prosecutions in 2021, two in 2020, and none in 2019. Ten prosecutions remained ongoing from prior years, including six for sex trafficking and four for labour trafficking. But for the second consecutive year, the government did not report convicting any traffickers; this compared with the convictions of three traffickers in both 2019 and 2020, which included significant prison sentences. Greta has criticized Malta for not appointing specialized judges for trafficking cases and did not pursue financial crime investigations related to human trafficking cases. However, the Maltese government provided training to the police vice squad and officials working with asylum-seekers; including welfare officers, social workers, and psychologists – on victim identification, communication approaches, ethics while working with survivors, and mental health issues. Law enforcement officers have conducted discreet interviews with potential victims to protect their identities and ensure their safety. To avoid re-traumatization, the government provided victims with protective support, including the option to testify via video. Foreign victims who assist police in prosecuting trafficking cases were entitled to a renewable six-month temporary residence permit, police protection, legal assistance, and the right to obtain flexible work permits. However, the government did not report whether it provided these protections to any victim during the reporting period. The government could grant refugee status to victims as an alternative to removal to countries where they may face hardship or persecution; however, the government did not report providing this status to any victims either. In July 2022, the government established a new coordinating body, the Anti-Human Trafficking Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), which met for the first time in October 2022 and once more in January 2023.

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Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese government underlined the urgent need for effective measures to ensure sustainability in the fishing industry within the Mediterranean region. The Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries Alicia Bugeja Said who was addressing an EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg declared that non-EU countries should also be encouraged to adopt the same sustainability measures as fishermen in the EU countries. Bugeja Said added that there should be equality among all countries of the region. “It is a fact that third countries are fishing in the Mediterranean without implementing or enforcing the same laws being followed by fishermen in Malta and other EU countries. There is a need for regional equality,” she insisted.The ministerial meeting discussed aspects of the Common Fisheries Policy, with Malta insisting that the focus should be on regeneration, particularly by attracting young people to the sector.

– photo agenziaFotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The bill amending Maltàs criminal provisions on abortion which went through the longest and most controversial debates concluded its parliamentary process, with MPs unanimously approving the bill in its third and final reading without the need for a vote.
However, the discussion concerning abortion in Malta is not over yet, declared the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela who described the vote as “a historic day for our country.” He added, “people are discussing it anyway, and no politician, Opposition party, or Church can stop that in a democratic society.”
The bill was only made possible following substantial amendments to address the concerns of those who feared that the bill would effectively legalize abortion by stealth and by association.
The bill will now become law as soon as it is signed by the President of Malta: a formality that had been far from a foregone conclusion at the start of the debate. President George Vella had repeatedly asserted that he rather resign than give his assent to a bill liberalizing Maltàs abortion law, and recently sources close to Vella, said that it was Vellàs no that forced the government to change its direction.
The bill allows doctors to carry out an abortion if a woman’s life is at immediate risk or her health is in “grave jeopardy which may lead to her death”. Terminations can only take place once all other treatments have been exhausted and the decision must be taken by three specialists except in emergency cases. Interventions can only take place in licensed clinics and if the fetus can live outside the womb, the doctors must help the mother give birth. Even once the bill is enacted into law, Malta will still have among the strictest abortion laws in the world and abortion will remain illegal under all other circumstances including rape, incest, and severe fetal abnormalities.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit agenziafotogramma.it-

Source: medNews

TUNISI (TUNISIA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Tunisia-Italy electricity interconnector received a US$268 million (245.4 million euros) loan from the World Bank Group to fund the project that will connect power grids between Tunisia and Europe. The project will position Tunisia country as a regional hub for renewable energy through a 600-megawatt undersea cable. The Tunisia-Italy power line project “ELMED” is estimated at around 850 million euros.
Funding from the World Bank Group will cover part of the total investment for the construction of a main converter station and associated substations on the Tunisian side, including support for the implementation of the interconnector. The World Bank Group’s technical assistance includes support for the establishment of a Renewable Energy Center of Excellence to position Tunisia as a training center for renewable energy projects in the North African region. Tunisiàs 600-megawatt power line interconnection project will connect Capo Bon to Sicily. It is being carried out by Terna of Italy and Steg of Tunisia and is due to be completed by 2028. The agreement, signed by Tunisian Economy and Planning Minister Samir Said, falls within the framework of the partnership between Tunisia and the World Bank for the period 2023-2027, which was suspended on March 6th. Italy’s goal of being a European energy hub and connecting with Africa to import electricity from renewable energy sources is part of its strategy to eliminate its dependence on Russian gas via the Tunisian power line with Italy.

– photo agenziafotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

PALERMO (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The focus of the XVI session of Cotec Europa, which this year focuses on the theme “Innovation in financial sustainability”embraced aspects of great importance. First of all, the importance of innovation in the relationship between finance and sustainability, and how it is necessary to identify new forms of financing that can guarantee investors a transparent use of resources (ESG, Environment, Social, Governance criteria), therefore providing solutions aimed to also encourage the private sector to achieve the objectives of sustainability. The President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, the King of Spain Felipe VI, the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with the participation of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, and in the presence of the local authorities and others met at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, to discuss one single aim: the achievement of the 17 stability objectives from Agenda 2030 (SDGs, sustainable development objectives) and from the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at controlling the rise in global average temperature, reduce global climate-change emissions, develop and disseminate technologies aimed at achieving climate neutrality (zero net emissions).
The proceedings, moderated by journalist Gianni Riotta, were opened by the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, who welcomed the guests emphasizing the importance of the city and of Sicily for the development of the Mediterranean: “Palermo becomes today, for one day, a privileged point of observation and synthesis for policies on financial sustainability and technical-scientific integration of three of the most important European countries”, said the mayor. “Sicily and Palermo,” he continued, “are a dynamic and propulsive link between the European continent and the expected development of the countries on the other side of the Mediterranean. Palermo and Sicily as a gateway to and from Europe, a plan that can be reached and not impossible”.
Following the speech by the President of Sicilian Regional Assembly, Gaetano Galvagno, the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, took the floor, emphasizing the path already taken by the island in terms of sustainability and digital innovation: “The eco-digital transition requires investments, this great transformation will change the way of working for millions of people, it is an inevitable challenge that only responsible institutions can carry forward,”explained the Governor. “Sicily is doing and will do its part on digital and sustainable innovation. The Mediterranean serves to carry out development projects”, added the Sicilian Governor.
“It is necessary to focus on increasing investments in environmental sustainability, on a policy that decreases the progress of the global average temperature, that aims at climate neutrality, which concentrates development and cohesion proposals on innovation”. “Since 2020, our region has already shown decline in sustainable development. It is one of the first Italian regions in this sense”, Schifani highlighted. “It is the task of today’s meeting to find new solutions”, he added. “I am sure that a clear message will be sent from Palermo to identify new forms of financing that can guarantee a correct use of resources”.
During the morning session, from the greetings of the Cotec general managers of the three countries to two panels discussing innovation in financial sustainability at the center of the debate with the participation of the public and private participation, it was time for a musical interval presented by the Kids Orchestra. As the national anthems of the three countries were sung, it was the turn of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni to deliver his speech. “The pandemic or the Russian invasion of Ukraine could have forced us to put the sustainability agenda in the background. This was not the case. These crises led us to redouble our efforts”, declared the former Italian Prime Minister, adding that “the message from Palermo and Sicily, which so many occasions development opportunities they may have in the global transition, is that Europe will continue to lead the transition towards climate sustainability, making it inclusive and just, because it is part of our DNA”. He remarked “with the European Green Deal and our Fit for 55 package, we have set new ambitious targets for emissions and placed the green transition at the centre. The stakes are truly enormous. It is a question of ushering in a new season in which we will have a more modern and responsible capitalism towards the destiny of our country”.
The three Heads of State who were greeted by a long applause during the symposium closed the event with their respective speech. previously greeted by a long applause. “Many years have passed since my first visit here, a precious bilateral relationship has been established” began his speech the King of Spain, Felipe VI. “I am sure we agree on the fact that over time our relationship has made us stronger, with greater in-depth analysis of the themes, also in the light of the problems linked to the Mediterranean. Italy, Spain and Portugal have common objectives and these last 18 years have been very fruitful, they have marked the positive evolution of our synergy in tackling the problems and carry on the challenge of sustainable technology. The performance of a country also depends on this and the efforts made to date are many. Investments can be used in different ways, bring long-range benefits, be opportunities for growth and innovation within a virtuous circle between administrators and investors to increase human and technological capital globally”.
“Here in Palermo we find ourselves at the center of the themes of climate change, sustainable development, innovation and sustainable finance,” explained the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa. “This meeting demonstrates how COTEC is an alliance of visions that for almost twenty years has launched new topics such as circular economy, sustainable development, the importance of financing standards at European and global level. We are united in a European alliance, without political, regional or sectoral divisions. Here in Sicily, in Palermo, in this land of past and future, we don’t want anything to change so that everything stays the same. We want everything to really change, for the better, for the Spanish, Portuguese, Italians and for the citizens of Europe and the world.”
The sixteenth session of the Symposium ended with the speech of the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella: “Today’s meeting is a renewed opportunity to discuss issues at the heart of the international agenda. Sustainability, finance and innovation,” said the head of the Italian State, adding “these are the three key words of this meeting that challenge governments. The commitment is that of transition towards a new structure and sustainable growth, in comparison with climate change and social sustainability. Vital is, then, the creation of a virtuous process with the involvement of the private sector in partnerships that multiply spending capacity, promote the transfer of technology and the free circulation of talents, to relaunch growth, to contribute to the global objectives of sustainable development. The prosperity of the entire planet is at stake. On all of these issues; Spain, Portugal, Italy, with the European Union, can play an important role. The responsibility lies with everyone”.

– photo press office Quirinale –

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltàs Foreign Minister Ian Borg urged the European Union to increase its focus on the Mediterranean, particularly with regard to the situation in Tunisia. Tunisia is going through economic and political turmoil which has seen thousands of migrants leaving its shores towards Italy. Borg who was addressing the EU foreign ministers’ meeting said the latest exchanges between the EU and Tunisia sent a good signal, but the time had come for the EU to refocus on the region. “Tunisia, in particular, needed to be helped so that solutions could be found that were satisfactory both to the country as well as the International Monetary Fund”, he said.
He added political and institutional relations with Tunisia could be strengthened through the Association Council, and Tunisia should also be assisted by the EU in capacity building to deal with the migration problem. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month offered €105 million to Tunisia for border management and combatting human trafficking.
(ITALPRESS).
-photo credit Department of Information Malta-

Source: medNews