The Board of Directors of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit has appointed a new Director following a public call for applications, as stated in a press release issued by the government, named Kenneth Farrugia.
Mr Farrugia’s term comes starts from 13 February 2017.
The appointment follows a public call for applications as well as an interviewing process which involved several applicants, a short listing process and further interviews of candidates.
Mr Farrugia holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) and a MA in Business Ethics. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a fellow member of the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) and a committee member within the Malta Forum of Internal Auditors (MFIA).
Throughout his career Mr Farrugia held audit positions both within private audit firms and the public sector. For the past nine years, he was engaged within the Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) and as from the 21 November 2012 he headed the Department as Acting DG/Director General. Mr Farrugia has extensive experience in EU Funds Audits, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Financial Investigations and AFCOS related matters. He provided support to the Internal Audit & Investigations Board (IAIB) to implement ongoing changes and served as Secretary to that Board.
Mr Farrugia participated in various meetings, seminars and conferences organised by the European Commission in the fields of auditing and investigations.
The previous director, Mr Manfred Galdes resigned from his post, with the FIAU board merely stating that he did so to join the private sector. The FIAU was tasked with investigating the Panama Papers scandal, however this report has never made the light of day. The opposition, as well as the European Parliament committee dealing with Panama Papers, publically expressed their dismay as to why this has not come to light yet, with the former questioning the circumstances surrounding the resignation and whether it had anything to do with the report.
The government had stressed that the FIAU is an independent and autonomous entity, therefore it is not privy to internal affairs, while the opposition had been calling for the government to facilitate the appointment of a new director ever since Mr Galdes’ resignation.
‘Publish Panama inquiry results’ – PN
Reacting, the PN said the new director should immediately say what the investigation into Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri’s Panama dealings has found.
“The investigation was carried out last year but the results were kept hidden. The only thing we know is that the previous FIAU director and the Police Commissioner resigned.”
The PN said people have a right to know if the Police Commissioner had called for any criminal steps to be taken against Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. “The FIAU is funded by the taxpayer and people have a right to know what the unit did in the case of Mizzi and Schembri.”
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