Malta Financial Services Authority

Category: Malta Financial Services Authority

September 30, 2021

EFRI, Paytah, and quite interesting Financial Ombudsman Hearings in Malta

Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, registered in Malta and regulated by the MFSA, is currently at the center of regulatory and criminal investigations in several European jurisdictions. In addition, Paytah is facing claims from scam victims who made deposits to various scams through Paytah and its affiliates. The European Fund Recovery Initiative (EFRI) represented the interests of victims at an obscure Financial Ombudsman hearing in Malta. Franklin Cachia of CSB Group represented Paytah. Cachia is currently the company's contracted compliance officer.

September 5, 2021

More victim complaints against the Infinitrade scam and Paytah

In May 2020, the UK FCA issued an investor warning against the Infinitrade (www.infinitrade.com and www.infinitrade.io) broker scam, operated by offshore entity A&E Products Ltd. The scam has been facilitated by payment processors Praxis Cashier System Ltd d/b/a Praxis Cashier, Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, and Finligue Grupp OÜ d/b/a Crypto1. The Maltese regulator MFSA has received complaints from victims about Paytah and its scam clients. Despite FCA's warning, PayTah and Crypto1 have continued to support the Infinitrade scam.

August 16, 2021

R4I – Broker scam Infinitrade, Praxis Cashier, and Maltese Paytah

In May 2020, the UK FCA issued an investor warning against the Infinitrade broker scam, operated by A&E Products Ltd, registered in Bulgaria. We know that the scam by payment processors Praxis Cashier, Paytah, and Crypto1 were involved. We are also aware that the MFSA has received complaints from victims about Paytah and is referring them to the Ombudsman. Therefore, we would like to know more to support the victims' claims.

Malta Financial Services Authority

August 3, 2021

The Maltese Disgrace – Assistant police chief suspended over inactivity allegations

The FATF greylisting of Malta disgraced the EU tax haven and money-laundering hub. And the disgrace continues. An independent investigation into the murder of Maltese blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia concluded that the government at the time was complicit by failing to act. Today, Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla has been suspended. The former head of the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) had already been heavily criticized for failing to investigate the Panama Papers. He was one of the good friends of the Maltese corruption network around Yorgen Fenech and former government officials Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

July 31, 2021

MFSA Compliance Issue – Disgraced Maltese regulator rebooting with Irish CEO?

The Times of Malta reported that the Irish lawyer Joseph Gavin (LinkedIn) had been appointed CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The former general counsel with the Central Bank of Ireland will start his job in September. Former CEO Joseph Cuschieri had to resign in November after it was revealed that he had flown to Las Vegas with casino owner Yorgen Fenech in 2018, with Fenech footing the bill. Cuschieri's close confident Christopher P. Buttigieg has been acting CEO since. We can hope that the MFSA will finally become a real regulator under its new CEO.

July 19, 2021

Malta Greylisting – Strange deals between MFSA and the Malta Business Registry

The greylisted EU offshore hub Malta is different in many respects. An old Maltese saying that loosely translated says that some people die of thirst while others are drowning in their excesses is still true. Usually, in Malta, it is those with the betters connections that get the better deal. Take the former MFSA executive George Spiteri for example. Today, an employee of the Malta Business Registry, who for long years boasted of his close connections with disgraced, "2019 Corrupt Person of the Year," former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

July 16, 2021

Neglecting Eurojust Guidelines – Maltese Authorities refuse to investigate scam-facilitator Paytah

Malta is greylisted for good reasons, mostly for their failing regulators. Malta-licensed, Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, refuses to assist the many victims who wired money to the company to top their accounts with broker scams like RoyalsFX, LincolnFX, or CodeFX. Victims reported these transactions to the MFSA. The regulator replied that they would not investigate and asked the victims to report Paytah to the Central Bank of Malta, which replied that it would not investigate such complaints. The victims also emailed Kenneth Farrugia, the Director of Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, who did not reply.

July 12, 2021

Greylisted Malta and its disgraced regulators!

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) of Malta is being highly criticized for paying Maltese online portals and newspapers for positive reportage in its regard. This is very telling and indeed shocking for a European country. Only last month, Malta has been placed on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which makes the European tax haven much less attractive. Who wants to be a tax resident or owner of a company in a grey-listed jurisdiction? And then there's the strange approach of the Maltese regulators.

May 27, 2021

James Scerri Worley, and the withdrawal of license of Money + Card Payment Institution Ltd

James Scerri Worley is a practicing lawyer in Malta. He was an official of Money + Card Payment Institution Ltd d/b/a epayzz which had its license revoked by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The company did not possess enough funds to cover the minimum required by law and did not meet its governance requirements. James Scerri Worley being an integral part of the company, also faced other decisions by the Authority. MFSA decided that Money + Card Payment Institution Ltd should wind up its business.

May 19, 2021

Maltese Compliance Issue – Paytah accuses MFSA of acting in violation of the constitution

The regulated Maltese high-risk payment processor Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, has sued its regulator, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Paytah accuses MFSA of being judge, jury, and executioner. The payment processor took this unprecedented step after the Maltese regulator fined it EUR 32,400 and restricted the company's license. This is not a normal civil court case. Instead, Paytah brought the claim against MFSA at the Constitutional Courts level. This is a first in Malta. Paytah has also sued MFSA for damages.

May 17, 2021

New director joins Maltese Paytah amidst regulatory turmoil, money-laundering allegations, and victim claims

The Italian Alpesh Patel has been appointed as a director of the MFSA-regulated Phoenix Payments Ltd, d/b/a Paytah. The regulator approved this appointment. One fails to understand how the MFSA and the FIAU have so far failed in clamping down Paytah. According to the former Chief Compliance Officer Daniela Pesci, the Maltese payment processor is being investigated by Interpol for money laundering issues. She filed public court documents against Paytah at Malta Courts show that she had her job terminated as soon as she flagged serious regulatory shortcomings.

May 16, 2021

Scam-facilitating Maltese payment processor Paytah striving for damage control

Malta-based Phoenix Payments Limited d/b/a as Paytah has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons over the past months. Fintelegram extensively reported on the scam-facilitating activities of this high-risk payment processor and its refusal to accept responsibility for intentionally or grossly negligently supporting the scams. Furthermore, Paytah did not only not compensate the victims despite its legal obligations, but it also refuses to assist the victims in their fund recovery activities.