BOV and police sign MoU to strengthen national fight against financial crime

With online scams growing ever more elaborate and personalised, Bank Of Valletta and the Malta Police Force have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding aimed at beefing up national resilience.

Through this MoU, BOV and the police will work together to raise public awareness on digital fraud and scams and to enhance protection for customers and society at large. 

The two institutions have also agreed to work closely together to ensure the timely exchange of intelligence and to strengthen investigative capabilities through shared expertise and training.

The MoU was signed by Bank of Valletta CEO Kenneth Farrugia and Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà in the presence of Ryan Caruana, Chief AFC Officer at Bank of Valletta and Assistant Commissioner Fabian Fleri who heads the Malta Police Financial Crime Investigations Department. 

“Financial Crime includes a wide spectrum of offences ranging from financing of terrorism, bribery, corruption, scams and fraud,” Mr Farrugia said. 

“We have been working closely with the Police to protect our customers and society at large from these serious offences by sharing information and working closely on ongoing investigations.” 

“With this partnership, we are going a step further by organising joint initiatives such as awareness campaigns and exploring ways to protect our society from the ever-changing tactics and trends of fraudsters and scammers.”

Mr Gafà warned that criminality is rapidly evolving, and financial crime is increasingly moving online, where prevention and detection are significantly more complex. 

He said that the collaboration with BOV will help the police adapt beyond traditional approaches and improve their ability to detect, prevent and respond to emerging challenges proactively and effectively.