‘Grey is not our colour’ – CEO of Express Trailers reflects on Malta’s FATF greylisting

Sharing an opinion piece he wrote for Times of Malta about the country’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last month, Franco Azzopardi, CEO of Express Trailers reflected on the decision and how he believes it should be addressed going forward.

“Grey is black mixed with some white. White is pure. Perfection. Perfection is a quest. It is not finite,” the CEO wrote on social media. “Time, weakness, fatigue, unfairness, all contaminate the white colour. To go back closer to white we need to go back to the basics of rectitude and fairness in our behaviour towards society at large.”

In the opinion piece published yesterday, Mr Azzopardi said that the FATF’s decision to greylist Malta “was a terrible disintegration of all that the country has achieved”, where, since Independence, the country’s economic success was guided by hard work, industry and enduring values of integrity, trustworthiness and decency.

“That all changed overnight. We now find ourselves in a lower league populated by countries torn by internal strife and other serious social and political challenges. This is just surreal.”

The CEO said that the obstacles this judgment poses for Malta’s economy is even greater than the fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It puts us at a disadvantage with competitors right when countries are preparing to emerge from the global slump.”

In his conclusion, Mr Azzopardi remarked that “Grey is not our colour and, together, we shall regain the world’s trust. This will be a lesson in principle-based competitiveness.”

“Let us remind future generations of what happens when we ignore the rule book of rectitude. Let us show the strength of character that propelled Malta’s first waves of success. We have all the attributes to realise this mission and prevail we will because we are proudly Maltese.”