"Complaint in France against BNPP, SocGen, Natixis, CIC and Rivage", 5 October 2020.

On September 30, 2020, Sherpa and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation called on the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office in France to open an investigation for money laundering of corruption, complicity, and concealment of stolen goods against four French banks and an investment fund, in connection with a large loan operation for the benefit of Electrogas Malta Limited in the context of the operation of the Maltese gas market. A few months before the conclusion of these loans, Daphne Caruana Galizia, assassinated in October 2017, had revealed that the contract would be tainted by corruption.

On October 16, 2017, Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered for revealing a corruption scandal involving leading Maltese political and business figures. Barely two months later, French banks, through subsidiaries or branches, and an investment fund, granted a loan to Electrogas Malta Limited, the company at the heart of Daphne’s revelations...Despite the existence of these suspicions, despite the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 2017 in the course of her investigations about market conditions attribution, the four French banks, through subsidiaries or branches, as well as the portfolio management company, granted a loan to Electrogas Malta Limited in November 2017...

Sherpa and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation have decided to act while expecting states to adopt strong measures to ensure that banks are effectively vigilant and responsible.