Robert Abela has once again ruled out creating a specific criminal offence for mafia-style association, saying that such a law would suggest that Malta is a mafia state. The proposal was one of the recommendations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Public Inquiry and remains unimplemented.
But perhaps we are arguing about the wrong thing.
A law criminalising mafia-style association does not, by itself, declare that a country is a mafia state. Italy has one. So does the United States, albeit through a different legal framework. The question is not what the existence of a law says about Malta. The question is what problem the law is intended to address.
And here there is a legitimate debate to be had.
The Public Inquiry recommended considering a provision similar to Italy’s Article 416 bis. But even the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation has expressed reservations about whether such a provision would be the most effective tool, pointing instead to stronger anti-racketeering legislation, better-resourced investigative units and a more efficient court system.
That is precisely the debate we should be having.
Does Malta need this particular offence? If not, what alternative gives prosecutors the tools the inquiry believed were missing?
Rejecting a proposal because of the political symbolism attached to its name is not quite the same thing as answering the legal problem it was intended to solve.
Call it anti-mafia law. Call it anti-racketeering law. Call it Tuesday afternoon legislation if you like.
The important question is much simpler:
Can organised criminal networks be identified, investigated and prosecuted effectively under Maltese law — and if not, what are we doing about it?
That is the question Parliament should be debating.
SOURCES
- Newsbook — Abela: ‘No mafia offence on my watch’, 6 October 2026.
Direct article link - MaltaToday — Robert Abela digs his heels on mafia association crime proposal: ‘Not on my watch’, 5 October 2026.
Direct article link - The Malta Independent — Why Malta protested: Inside the Public Inquiry reforms which remain largely untouched, 20 September 2026.
Direct article link - MaltaToday — What the inquiry proposed, the government disposed, 20 September 2026.
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