The European Union (EU) legislators have proposed an investigation against Maltese lender Bank of Valletta over money laundering charges.

According to a Reuters report, the probe was sought after the European Central Bank (ECB) found ‘severe shortcomings’ in the bank’s risk monitoring procedures.

Bank of Valletta failed to review risks involving thousands of payments, the news agency added citing ECB report.

The report sought a corrective action by the end of this year to address the issue.

Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker, was quoted by Reuters as saying: “Maltese authorities would be well advised to investigate thoroughly what went wrong and if criminal offences have been committed in the process.”

Another EU parliamentarian Sven Giegold called for an investigation by European regulators.

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However, an ECB spokesperson refused to comment on the matter.

Besides, Malta’s police did not confirm if a criminal investigation has been initiated against Bank of Valletta. They will intervene, if money-laundering breaches are found, local police told the news agency.

On the other hand, Bank of Valletta said that it has been engaged in a transformation programme for the last 18 months. The programme is expected to be wrapped up by the second quarter of next year.

Notably, in February this year, Bank of Valletta resumed services after being forced to shut down all operations following a cyber-attack. The hackers siphoned $14.7m through false international payments.

Bank of Valletta offers personal, business and wealth management services.