Tag: Joseph Gavin

The Intransparent Maltese Regulator
The Maltese mess around its regulators continues. Most recently, the MFSA was again in the spotlight of scandals. The resignation of short-lived Irish CEO Joseph Gavin caused turbulence because he had apparently received a lucrative agreement to carry out an orderly handover. Something that probably shouldn't be remunerated separately one would think. The MFSA and the Maltese Finance Minister Clyde Caruana refuse to publish this €65,000 contract, The Shift reports.

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!

MFSA’s Edwina Licari And Joseph Cuschieri Splashed Malta’s Taxpayers’ Monies!
Joseph Cuschieri was the CEO of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) when he was appointed as CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in 2018. Cuschieri decided to be accompanied by his long-term friend Edwina Licari, who joined him from MGA. During their term at MFSA, they traveled on 38 “business” trips together and spent €0.5 million from taxpayers’ monies. During a 2017 trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, they stayed at the luxurious Emperors Palace.

Seriously? MFSA CEO Joseph Gavin Will Be Stepping Down!
Well, that's a bit strange! But then, it's Malta. MFSA's Irish CEO Joseph Gavin will be retiring early and stepping down from his role later this year following a recent absence for medical reasons., MFSA informed in a one-sentence notice. The Irish lawyer was appointed to the financial regulator in July of 2021 on a package reportedly worth €160,000. Gavin previously served as general counsel within the Central Bank of Ireland between 2009 and 2015.



Regulatory Review: MFSA CEO Joseph Gavin Resumes Post
On 15 June 2022, the Maltese regulator MFSA informed that its CEO, Joseph Gavin, was indisposed. He has temporarily retired, and the Board of Governors appointed Chief Officer Enforcement, Michelle Mizzi Buontempo, as Acting CEO in Gavin’s absence, effective 15 June 2022. On 27 July 2022, MFSA informed that Joseph Gavin would resume his role with effect from 28 July. The MFSA has not released further details on the indisposition.


MFSA’s CEO Joseph Gavin Out Of Action
In what has been described as a very strange statement, the CEO of Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), Joseph Gavin, is currently indisposed. Eyebrows were raised for a short statement issued by MFSA with no explanation whatsoever. Joseph Gavin, an Irish man, was appointed as MFSA’s CEO on a salary package of around €150,000 per year following the resignation of disgraced Joseph Cuschieri. Further eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Gavin would not be replaced by Christopher Buttigieg, but by Michelle Mizzi Buontempo.


Russian-Maltese Exante still operating in Malta and Cyprus despite Russia’s blacklisting
Exante Group is a Maltese-Russian investment venture with XNT LTD (previously known as Exante Ltd), an investment firm regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), and EXT Ltd, an investment firm regulated by CySEC. Exante has a long story of investigations by authorities in the U.S. In 2021, the Russian Central Bank blacklisted Exante and its CySEC-regulated entity. An investigation by The Shift found that the Exante companies are still operating. It is still listed as a member firm of the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE).


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.


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.