The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “the Authority”) has decided to proceed with the withdrawal of the Institution’s licence.
Address:
Office Number 236,
Regus Tower Business Centre, 2nd Floor
Tower Street,
Swatar, Birkirkara BKR 4013
Malta
Business Activity: Financial Institutions licensed to undertake payment services under the 2nd Schedule to the Financial Institutions Act (Payment Institutions)
BREACHES
The MFSA determined that the Institution failed to adhere its obligations in terms of:
[i] The pre-licensing conditions set by the Authority, namely pre-licencing conditions (c) and (d), which require the engagement of an Operations Manager and a Risk Manager respectively. The Institution has also failed to demonstrate whether post-licensing conditions (c) and (d) with respect to the timely confirmation of the appointment of the external auditor and the submission of the relevant outsourcing service agreement, and the engagement of the internal auditor, which needed to be satisfied prior to the commencement of business, have been met in full;
[ii] Article 5(1)(c) of the Financial Institutions Act (“the Act”) and the Institution’s licence conditions as it failed to ensure and maintain an appropriate operational and internal governance structure;
[iii] Article 14 of the Act, as well as Article 17B of the Act and para 35 of the Financial Institutions Rules, FIR/02/2019 as it regularly failed to submit a complete and proper set of statutory returns which the MFSA requires for supervisory and regulatory reasons; and
[iv] Article 18(3) of the Act for failing to inform the Authority immediately of the appointment of its external auditor.
REGULATORY ACTION
On 11 August 2020, the MFSA decided to withdraw the Institution’s licence in terms of Articles 6(1)(b), (d) and (i) of the Act.
It should be noted that the MFSA’s decision to withdraw the Institution’s licence shall not become operative until the expiration of the period within which an appeal lies. If an appeal is made within such period, the withdrawal shall become operative on the date of the decision of the Tribunal dismissing the appeal or the date on which the appeal is abandoned.
PUBLICATION
This notice is being published in terms of Article 6(9) of the Act and Article 16(8) of the Malta Financial Services Act, and as part of the Authority’s standard enforcement policy, publish on its website and in such other medium as may be deemed warranted any sanction or measure imposed or decided by the Authority.
