Alfred Zammit | FinTelegram News

Malta’s FIAU And The Pilatus Bank Scandal

FIAU Malta Ben - April 17, 2023

There is no stop to the scandals in which Malta’s FIAU is embroiled. Pilatus Bank was a Malta-based bank with a license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) when Edward Scicluna was the Minister of Finance. Today, Scicluna is the Central Bank Governor of Malta. In September 2016, the Malta FIAU inspection highlighted several shortcomings in the bank’s operations. But the FIAU issued a clean bill of health.

A Maltese Casino Fined A Pittance For Facilitating A Drug Dealer And A Tax Evader!

FIAU Malta Mark Lagarde - March 21, 2023

Casino Malta Limited failed to report suspected activities by an alleged drug trafficker and another player linked to bribery and tax evasion. Malta’s FIAU announced it had fined Casino Malta, run by Eden Leisure Gaming, €233,000 for serious and systemic failures in its measures to prevent financial crime. The directors of the casino are Ian De Cesare, Kevin De Cesare, and Corey David Plummer. Allegedly, Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela was legal counsel to the Eden Leisure Group.

Judgment day is fast approaching for Malta’s FIAU!

Court Cases Mark Lagarde - December 18, 2022

Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has been sued by more than a dozen companies and professionals. The authority is accused of having breached Malta’s Constitution and the European Convention for Human Rights, given that it acts as judge, jury, and prosecutor. The same entity that decides whom and when to investigate or not carries out the investigation and then decides on the punishment to be given has been trying to defend itself at Malta’s courts.

Malta’s Pussycat Regulator FIAU Issues Token Fine Against HSBC Bank Malta

FIAU Malta Mark Lagarde - December 6, 2022

“Being very strong with the weak and very weak with the strong” was the criticism launched towards Malta’s FIAU by various professionals, international media, and institutions. After firing hefty fines against small operators, including advocates and notary public, the FIAU, headed by Kenneth Farrugia and Alfred Zammit, recently came up with a token fine against HSBC Bank Malta. The fine considered a joke by international media is just €83,000. FIAU has earned the reputation as a "Pussycat Regulator."

Regulatory Issue: Malta’s Lombard Bank Sues FIAU Over Unconstitutional Fine!

Compliance Mark Lagarde - October 31, 2022

Maltese financial institutions, including Lombard Bank, are challenging the legality of administrative fines dished out by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) in court. Claiming that its rights were breached in the FIAU’s applications of sanctions against it, Lombard Bank initiated legal proceedings in Malta’s Constitutional court. FIAU fined the bank when Malta faced the possibility of being grey-listed by Moneyval and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Novum Bank Of Dutch Billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn Fined By Maltese AML Regulator!

Compliance Mark Lagarde - September 10, 2022

The Maltese-registered Novum Bank was fined €89,156 by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) in August 2022, following an onsite compliance review that was carried out in 2019. It is unknown why FIAU waited more than three years to dish out the fine. The Malta-based bank owned by the Dutch billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn has been fined by FIAU for shortcomings in its efforts to detect potential money laundering. Novum Bank was ordered to tighten up its checks on clients.

XNT Wins Courtbattle Against Maltese Regulator FIAU

FIAU Malta Ben - July 26, 2022

Malta’s MFSA-regulated investment firm XNT Ltd, part of the Exante Group, has won the first hurdle in its court battle against Malta’s FIAU. After years of the inaction of flagrant abuse in well-renowned cases, the FIAU dished out fines to small firms and continued with its action against top firms. Following media pressure, the FIAU opted to fine some larger firms such as XNT. It has so far failed to publicly take action against the likes of Calamatta Cuschieri despite shocking court revelations.

Courts Rule That Malta’s FIAU Hugely Over-Fined Firms and Professionals To Impress FATF!

FATF Ben - July 13, 2022

Malta was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June 2021. This had been long coming. In a bid to not become grey listed and impress the FATF, Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) was over-fining individuals and firms. The FATF did not fall for such games and grey-listed Malta. The FIAU continued issuing very high fines to targeted companies and individuals. Malta has now been removed from the FATF grey list after a year. Some companies and individuals who were hugely fined took legal action against the FIAU.

Victims Alarm! Israeli-Maltese Binary Options Scam Broker OneTwoTrade In Liquidation!

Binary Options Mark Lagarde - June 12, 2022

The Maltese company Up & Down Marketing Limited d/b/a OneTwoTrade is accused of scamming hundreds of victims, millions of euros with its binary options fraud scheme has gone into liquidation. The company was voluntarily put into liquidation by its directors. One of its former directors Ivan Grixti (LinkedIn) is a former Malta Labour Party MEP candidate and a lecturer at the Department of Accountancy at the University of Malta. Regulators across the globe warned against the OneTwoTrade scam.

Malta’s FIAU Excessively Over-Fined Notorious Satabank!

FIU Malta Charlene Lensburg - June 5, 2022

A fine imposed on the now-defunct Bulgarian-owned laundromat Satabank plc by Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has been slashed from €327,500 to €68,000 after the bank appealed the penalty. The FIAU announced that a fine they had issued against the bank in October 2018 had been reduced by the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction). As usual, details of the judgment have not been disclosed to the public. Satabank became notorious with a €3.7M AML/CFT penalty.

Regulatory Issues! Malta’s FIAU sued by N Trust Limited!

Court Cases Ben - May 23, 2022

A wave of court cases has been filed in Malta’s courts against the FIAU, headed by Kenneth Farrugia. The regulator is under harsh criticism for acting late or not acting at all against the big fish while being too strong with the weak. The FIAU dished out a €94,868 fine against N Trust Limited earlier this year. N Trust Limited has appealed the fine and sued the FIAU for allegedly acting as judge, jury, and prosecutor, which would violate constitutional and human rights.

Malta’s MFSA saw no reason why to deny a license to Pilatus Bank

Malta Financial Services Authority tamir - March 16, 2022

The smallest EU State, Malta was the first European Union state ever to be greylisted. The FATF grey listed Malta in June 2021. In 2014, the MFSA had issued a banking license to Pilatus Bank. There was no reason for Pilatus Bank to be refused a banking license when it applied for one, Andre Camilleri, the then-director-general of MFSA, said in courts. Pilatus Bank had its license revoked by the ECB in 2018 after the bank’s chairman, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, was indicted on money laundering charges in the U.S.

Tag: Alfred Zammit