MALTA: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON IRISL CONTINUING

S E C R E T VALLETTA 000240 SIPDIS FOR ISN, T, EAP, EUR, TREASURY, AND NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2019 TAGS: EFIN ETTC KNNP PREL PARM IR UK GM MT SUBJECT: MALTA: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON IRISL CONTINUING EVASIVE ACTIVITIES REF: STATE 52348 Classified By: CDA Jason Davis, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) On May 26 Charge' met Alan Caruana, Chief of Staff to Malta's Minister of Finance, to discuss reftel request related to IRISL's continuing evasive activities in Malta. ¶2. (S) Caruana was already familiar with the materials provided reftel, having received them in a meeting last month with U/S Treasury Levey. He said that Malta Maritime Authority (MMA) chairman Mark Portelli had already met with Ann Fenech (of Fenech and Fenech) to warn her of the possible risk to her firm's, and Malta's, reputation should her firm continue to provide services to IRISL. Caruana promised to pass reftel request to his boss, Minister of Finance Borg, and said that he himself would seek out an early opportunity to meet with Fenech to specifically warn her against providing services that could have the effect of facilitating IRISL's ability to engage in proliferation-related activities. ¶3. (S) Caruana said he had heard from Ganado & Associates, the Maltese firm that had previously provided services to IRISL, that it (Ganado) had gotten out of the business after several of its lawyers were pulled aside by DHS for additional Iran-related questioning when entering the U.S. with their families on vacation. Caruana said he assumed that DHS had been provided with a list of Ganado lawyers, and asked whether the names of lawyers working for Fenech and Fenech could likewise be provided to DHS, in hopes that additional questioning might serve as a deterrent. Charge' assured him that this had already been done. DAVIS