Rudolf Muscat | FinTelegram News

Why? Malta’s Calamatta Cuschieri Selling Its Offices As Restructuring Is Delayed!

Economics and Finance Mark Lagarde - March 17, 2023

CC Finance Group plc reported heavy losses in its financial statements ending June 2022, as reported by Fintelegram. It now transpires that CC Finance Group, the company behind Calamatta Cuschieri, has entered into a promise of sale agreement to sell its offices in Valletta for € 3.15 million. No reason was given behind the sale of this building in Malta’s capital city. It was announced that a board of directors meeting shall be convened on 21 April 2023.

Malta’s FIAU Officials On The Brink Of Losing Their Power!

FIAU Malta Mark Lagarde - March 13, 2023

Until August 2022, Malta was greylisted by the FATF for being a money-laundering hub. The greylisting was undoubtedly the result of failures of the country's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). Nevertheless, its officials enjoy almost unlimited powers without transparency. They meet behind closed doors to decide on punishments. While enjoying such powers, they do not declare their conflicts of interest. A litany of companies has sued the FIAU.

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).

Ferratum Bank Appeals Malta’s FIAU Fine

Compliance Mark Lagarde - September 7, 2022

Malta-registered and MFSA-regulated Ferratum Bank was fined by the controversial regulator Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). The bank's parent company Multitude SE has considered the FIAU’s penalty decision following a compliance examination on its subsidiary Ferratum Bank. The examination was carried out on Ferratum Bank between December 2018 and May 2019, resulting in an administrative penalty of €653,637. The fine was issued in August 2022, hence almost more than three years after the visit!

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 Compliance Issue – Ivan Grixti and the broker scam One Two Trade!

FIAU Malta Ben - December 7, 2021

Ivan Grixti is a former Malta Labour Party MEP candidate and a lecturer at the Department of Accountancy at the University of Malta. He served as director of the binary options scam operator Up & Down Marketing Limited d/b/a One Two Trade (www.onetwotrade.com). Various reports show that the company scammed hundreds of victims, millions of euros. The company is registered in Malta. Its registered address shows an empty office at 2, Geraldu Farrugia Street, Zebbug, Malta.

Tag: Rudolf Muscat