Edwina Licari | FinTelegram News

Tag: Edwina Licari

Malta Financial Services Authority

September 25, 2024

Disgraced Maltese Regulator MFSA Ordered to Pay €414,000 for Unjust Dismissal of Former COO!

The former CEO of the Maltese financial regulator MFSA, Joseph Cuschieri, was a disgrace to the authority. The unjust dismissal of former MFSA COO Reuben Fenech by then-CEO Joseph Cuschieri has led to a damage payment of almost €414,000. Under the leadership of Cuschieri and his team, the Maltese financial regulator has lost its reputation and has become a symbol of the failure of financial market supervision.

May 4, 2023

Interesting: Disgraced Former MFSA CEO Still Fit For Public Service Jobs!

Malta is different. There, it's really the good networks and friends that count first and foremost. Sincerity or reputation is less important. After a devastating internal investigation, Joseph Cuschieri was forced to resign as CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in 2020. Cuschieri used to be a good friend of the arrested Maltese entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech. However, he has been given a new government appointment, the Maltese online media The Shift reports.

April 16, 2023

New Book Reveals How Maltese Law Enforcement Obstructed Efficient Prosecution Of Pilatus Bank!

A book released in Malta by NGO Repubblika concludes that police officers investigating suspected money laundering at MFSA’s licensed Pilatus Bank were searching for justifications for the decision not to prosecute top bank officials. The author Robert Aquilina exposed how police officers discussed how to justify the decision by Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg not to prosecute Pilatus Bank's former top executives, Antoniella Gauci and Mehmet Tasli.

March 31, 2023

Disgraced Former CEO Joseph Cuschieri Breached MFSA Guidelines And ECB Code Of Conduct.

Unsurprisingly, the former CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), Joseph Cuschieri, violated the regulators' ethics. An internal ethics probe into the regulator's former CEO has determined that he infringed the MFSA's and the European Central Bank's guidelines by going on a 2020 trip to Las Vegas with businessman Yorgen Fenech, who footed the bills for their flights and accommodation.

March 30, 2023

Maltese Networks! MFSA Report Clears General Counsel Edwina Licari!

In October 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority’s (MFSA) Board of Governors commissioned a review to carry out necessary verifications about a possible breach of ethics by former CEO Joseph Cuschieri and General Counsel Edwina Licari. The report, issued in Nov 2022, concludes that Licari need not face such charges. However, the report also implies problematic conduct during her time as MGA executive and sheds light on the Maltese way of doing supervision.

January 2, 2023

Really? Former MFSA Officials Hid Pilatus Bank Documents In Office!

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) just keeps making headlines for the wrong reasons. Shocking court testimony by an MFSA official revealed that two MFSA officials hid documents from the magisterial inquiry into the operations of Pilatus Bank in a safe on the Authority’s premises that was only accessible by two people who are no longer at the Authority. This testimony was revealed on Maltese television by a local NGO President.

Malta Financial Services Authority

January 2, 2023

MFSA: The Maltese Intransparency Problems With Its Regulators Continue!

The regulatory environment in Malta is different. Very different, indeed. The Maltese online platform Shift revealed that Malta Financial Services Authority (MFS) entered into a questionable arrangement to pay its retired former CEO Joseph Gavin some €65,000 for him to “give a handover” to the new acting CEO, a senior MFSA executive. Gavin stepped down last summer after being absent from work for over a month but was still paid €11,000 per month.

December 19, 2022

That’s Malta, Stupid! The EU Should Start To Ask Critical Questions About Money Laundering!

A new study calls Malta a money laundering hub in connection with gambling activities. Nothing new here! In May 2017, whistleblower Valery Atanasov, a former MGA employee, exposed email exchanges that demonstrated that the regulator had broken its own rules between 2012 and 2014 and created "conditions that allow suspicious financial operations, money laundering, and other criminal practices.” Joseph Cuschieri, the then-CEO, was awarded the post of CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).

November 23, 2022

FTX Activities In Malta! Gaming Ventures That Never Took Off!

The collapsed crypto exchange giant FTX, which has filed for bankruptcy in the US, opened two companies in Malta last April in an apparent bid to expand into gaming. According to information in the Malta Business Registry, FTX Malta Holdings Limited and FTX Malta Gaming Services Limited were opened in Malta in April. Both companies have Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto exchange’s former boss, written down as appointed director. These entities are not part of the U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Malta Financial Services Authority

October 18, 2022

Malta’s MFSA Refuses To Answer Questions On Calamatta Cuschieri’s Operations

Questions sent to the acting CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), Michelle Mizzi Buontempo, have remained unanswered. Calamatta Cuschieri Investments Services Limited, a MFSA-licensed firm, has been named by a convicted criminal under oath in court, for dishing him out some €500,000 in cash. She was asked whether the MFSA considers such dodgy transactions as legal and if an investigation into Calamatta Cuschieri’s operations is being carried out.

September 4, 2022

MFSA’s CEO Called It A Day. What A Regulatory Mess!

FinTelegram reported that the Irish Joseph Gavin resigned from his post as CEO of the Maltese Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Earlier this month, MFSA announced that Gavin would resign later this year. However, he resigned before the end of the Summer. The Irish lawyer was appointed to the financial regulator in July of 2021 on a package reportedly worth €160,000. The previous CEO, Joseph Cuschieri, has had to leave in disgrace, and the Acting CEO who succeeded him, Christopher P. Buttigieg, is facing lawsuits surrounding his conduct as an MFSA official. A mess!

September 1, 2022

US Regulator Accuses Malta-Based Firm Of $75 Million Racket

A Malta-based advisory firm has been charged along with its owners with defrauding clients out of more than $75 million, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced. The company was licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). In a statement, the financial watchdog said it had charged two North Carolina-based executives, Gregory Lindberg and Christopher Herwig, and their Malta-based registered investment advisory, Standard Advisory Services Limited.

How U.S. Law Enforcement Infiltrated The International Crypto Scene!

In an unprecedented move, the FBI infiltrated the crypto world with its own token, NexFundAI, to crack down on market manipulation. This case marks a significant shift in crypto enforcement, signaling that law enforcement is evolving its tactics to keep pace with the complexities of the digital asset space. As more fraudsters are exposed, the crackdown on wash trades and pump-and-dump schemes is just beginning.

Breaking: German Co-Founder of Crypto Fraud Scheme USI Tech On The Run!

USI Tech was one of the first MLM schemes to use cryptocurrencies to defraud its investors. FinTelegram has issued several warnings aginst the scheme. Horst Jicha has now gone fugitive, leaving behind a trail of defrauded investors and evading justice in the $150 million USI Tech fraud case. With Jicha on the run, the case serves as a chilling reminder of the risks in the volatile crypto world.

Binance Chief Financial Crime Compliance Officer Denied Bail in Nigerian Case!

Think twice before starting to work for the world's larger crypto exchange. As Binance’s financial crime compliance officer faces money laundering charges in Nigeria, questions mount over the company’s compliance safeguards and the risks involved in its global operations. The denial of bail for Tigran Gambaryan and the ongoing legal battle could have far-reaching implications for the company’s future.

Fintech

Solaris Bleeds Cash and Jobs: Can This High-Risk Fintech Survive, Let Alone IPO?

Solaris, a German fintech and neobank, has a long history of compliance troubles. Moreover, its ongoing financial losses and regulatory woes doubt its long-term profitability, even as it sheds jobs and restructures for survival. A potential IPO, as rumored by the German platform Gründerszene, seems speculative at best in light of its deep-rooted issues with compliance and financial stability.

Breaking: The Binance-Like $3.1 Billion Money Laundering Settlement of TD Bank!

TD Bank, one of North America's largest financial institutions, has been hit with a historic $3.1 billion settlement over money laundering violations. This case represents one of the most significant AML enforcement actions in U.S. history, both in terms of the financial penalties imposed and the severity of the admitted misconduct. Only Binance, with its $4.1 billion settlement, was even larger.