Bangladeshi charged with human trafficking, money laundering in Malta

A Bangladeshi national has been arrested in Malta for his suspected connection in human trafficking to and from the archipelago.

The arrestee, 36, was carrying a considerable amount of cash when caught at Malta International Airport, the Malta Today reported on Saturday without disclosing his identity.

Prior to that, 11 people from Bangladesh including him were stopped from travelling to Italy on suspicion that they were using forged documents.

The arrestee might be behind the illegal trafficking of them in and out of Malta, suspect the immigration department and the money laundering unit within the police.

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The man was charged in front of Magistrate Victor Axiaq on charges of money laundering, human trafficking, and other financial crimes, according to the Lovin Malta.

The prosecution is being led by Inspectors Christian Abela and James Turner, with Cinzia Azzopardi Alamango and Maria Schembri appearing for the Attorney General’s office.

As it stands, Maltese law prescribes four to 12-years imprisonment for a person found guilty of sex or labour trafficking.

A 2019 report found that convictions are low in Malta. As of June 2019, not a single person has been convicted of human trafficking since the start of 2015, despite 23 alleged traffickers appearing in front of the court during the same period.