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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.

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.

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).

Corruption

October 20, 2022

The Maltese Blogger Killing – New Convictions But Still Waiting For The Alleged Masterminds’ Trials!

Last week, two brothers, George Degiorgio, 59, and Alfred Degiorgio, 57, charged with the car-bomb assassination of the Maltese journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 2017 have been sentenced to a 40-year prison term. They pleaded guilty to her murder on the first day of their trial. Caruana Galizia, the "one-woman Wikileaks" had investigated political corruption in Malta and abroad. She was known as a harsh critic of the Maltese government.

August 12, 2022

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.

Malta Financial Services Authority

August 9, 2022

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.

May 20, 2022

MGA’s Chief Internal Audit James Grech Resigns

The Maltese regualator MGA has been hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons during the past years. Following resignations, including that of Heathcliff Farrugia and Anton Axiaq, both being prosecuted for alleged serious crimes, the Chief Internal Auditor of MGA, James Grech resigned for unknown reasons. The regulator did not make any announcement of the departure. James Grech was enrolled within MGA during the days when disgraced Joseph Cuschieri was at the helm of the Authority.

April 13, 2022

Embarrassing: And Malta Gaming Authority official is investigated for basketball match-fixing

How much disgrace and national damage can regulators produce? In Malta, a lot! A Malta league basketball match is the subject of a major police investigation in Malta. The smallest EU country is well-known as a hub for gaming companies. One of the match players, Anton Axiaq, happens to be a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) official. He works within the IT section. Maltese media reported that a criminal police investigation is underway.

March 16, 2022

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

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.

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.

Gotbit and Russian Executives Charged by U.S. DOJ and SEC for Crypto Market Manipulation!

Gotbit Consulting LLC, along with its Russian executives, has been charged by the U.S. DOJ and SEC for its role in a widespread market manipulation scheme. By using wash trades, Gotbit inflated crypto asset prices and volumes, deceiving investors and raising millions in illicit profits. The company’s fraudulent activities were executed across multiple jurisdictions, with key figures now facing extradition and prosecution.

SEC Charges Market Manipulators in Crackdown on Crypto Asset Fraud

The U.S. SEC has charged three market makers and nine individuals for manipulating the crypto asset market, generating artificial trading volumes and misleading retail investors. The fraudulent schemes created the illusion of active markets, prompting unsuspecting investors to pour money into manipulated crypto assets. The DOJ filed criminal charges against the scheme operators in a parallel transaction.

U.S. DOJ Charges 18 Individuals and Entities in Global Crypto Fraud Crackdown!

The U.S. DOJ has charged 18 individuals and entities in an international operation targeting market manipulation and fraud in the crypto industry. The defendants, including market makers and token promoters, are accused of using wash trading and false trading activity to deceive retail investors and artificially inflate crypto prices. This is the first major criminal case of its kind in the crypto market.