The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a circular on 24th March 2026, introducing significant changes to the regulatory framework governing depositaries, marking a notable step towards simplification, proportionality, and i
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Open banking has always carried a paradox between the promise of revolutionary innovation shadowed by the practical and legal challenges of implementation. PSD2 opened the door to third-party providers, enabling fintechs to aggregate accounts, ini
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On 10 June 2025, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”) issued a No Action Letter in the form of an Opinion (EBA/Op/2025/08), providing targeted supervisory guidance to national competent authorities (“NCAs”) designated under Directive (EU
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Fraud has always been the shadow lurking at the edges of digital payments, but the Payment Services Directive II (“PSD 2”)’s introduction of strong customer authentication seemed, at first, to have turned the corner. Yet reality proved less
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has taken another concrete step towards reducing regulatory reporting burdens on the funds industry. Through a circular issued on 2 February 2026, the Authority announced a series of amendments t
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For a decade, the European payment services landscape has been defined by tension posed by the desire to open markets to innovation and competition, counterbalanced by the imperative to protect consumers and maintain financial stability. Directive
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a new General Code of Conduct for Decision Makers in the Financial Services Industry, marking a significant step in strengthening governance standards, organisational culture, and ethi
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a Circular establishing mandatory reporting timelines and procedural requirements for financial entities in scope of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on Digital Operational Resilience for the
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Directive (EU) 2024/927, more commonly referred to as AIFMD II, amends the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) with respect to the harmonisation of rules applicable to alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”) man
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The European Union’s fight against money laundering and terrorist financing has entered a new phase. What was once characterised by fragmented national supervision and uneven enforcement is steadily giving way to a more centralised, data-driven
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On the 25th November 2025, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a Dear CEO Letter summarising the findings of their Thematic Review on the effectiveness and resilience of the Risk Management Function within Company Service Pr
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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) has announced that the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has published its latest updates to the lists of High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action and Jurisdictions under Inc
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) recently issued guidance on how financial entities should report their Register of Information (“RoI”) under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”). This Circular affects banks,
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The Malta Business Registry (“MBR”) has published guidelines outlining the proposed amendments to the Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta). The amendments aim to streamline corporate compliance, modernise communication with the Regist
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In September 2025, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued its Dear CEO Letter on Supervisory Engagements and Digital Operational Resilience 2024. This letter deserves careful attention as it captures not only the MFSA’s super
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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) has issued a new Guidance Note for Limited (Registered) Company Service Providers (“CSPs”), providing clarity on how small-scale CSPs should meet their anti-money laundering and countering
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In recent years the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has introduced significant updates designed to facilitate the establishment and operation of Single Family Offices (“SFO”) in Malta. These developments strengthen Malta’s po
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On the 29th July 2025 the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued its Investment Services Supervision Regulatory Briefing covering developments for the period 1st January 2025 – 24th July 2025. This update is essential reading
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) has published an article to explore the increasing use of artificial intelligence (“AI“) in the European Union (“EU“) investment fund industry, highlighting
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The European Union (“EU”) Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (“MiCA”) marks a significant milestone in the regulation of crypto assets both within the content and outside. With its implementation MiCA introduces a harmonized framework aim
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Following the feedback statement on the proposed amendments to the Company Service Providers (“CSPs”) regulatory framework issued on the 9th April 2020, the amendments to the Company Service Providers Act, as amended by Act L of 2020 (“CSP A
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The Malta Business Registry (“MBR”) has issued a Guidance document (“Guidance”) which presents an overview of the requirements emanating from the Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations (the “Regulations”). The Guidan
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Following the coming of application of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Dir
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On the 26th October 2021, the Companies (Amendment) Act (the “Amendment Act”) was enacted in order to amend the Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta) (the “Act”). From an overview of the amendments undertaken, it seems that the goa
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On the 25th January 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued new Crowdfunding Rules (the “Rules”) which contain provisions regulating the operations of Crowdfunding Service Providers authorised by the MFSA. The Rules
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The US Ministry of Finance announced that it will abolish the tax treaty with Hungary by the 31st December 2023. The key reason for this is that the Hungarian government is reluctant to adopt the global minimum tax approach (GLOBE) recommended by
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The letter sent by Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) addresses several pertinent issues. The prohibition on payment for order flow (“PFOF”) bans brokers from receiving payments to direct client orders to specific trading platform
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “Authority”) is tasked with the authorisation and regulation of the persons providing trustee and other fiduciary services in terms of the Trusts and Trustees Act, Chapter 331 of the Laws o
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) recently shared insights from its supervisory engagements conducted between July 2022 and July 2024. These reviews, covering approximately 36% of licensed investment firms, highlight critical governanc
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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has initiated a consultation on the revision of the Implementing Procedures – Part II for the Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) Sector. This consultation is an essential part of ongoing efforts to str
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Company Service Providers (CSPs) in Malta are essential to the financial system as they serve as the first point of contact for individuals establishing businesses. Due to this, CSPs face heightened risks of being exploited for money laundering an
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History of AI and the European Union One of the broadest definitions of AI is a machine’s ability to perform a task that would have previously required human intelligence. Therefore, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) has been around for decades
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20 November 2023 – This Circular published by the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA” or “Authority”) supplements a circular published in January 2023 by the Authority titled Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 and Amending Directive (E
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16 October 2023 – The circular addresses market participants, especially users of benchmarks under EU Regulation 2016/1011 (“BMR”). Benchmarks play a crucial role in determining financial instrument prices and measuring investment fund p
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On the 13th of March 2023, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) published the revised MFSA FinTech Regulatory Sandbox (the “Regulatory Sandbox”), established in line with the MFSA Rule 3: The MFSA FinTech Regulatory Sandbox (the
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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU” or the “Authority”) has informed Subject Persons that additional guidance has been published in preparation for the upcoming 2023 Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (“REQ”) conducted by the s
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New developments regarding the proposed Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (“AMLR”) and the sixth (6th) Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“AMLD6”) have emerged with the new political agreement reached at the European Union (“EU”) Council
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On the 27th of December 2022, the Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 and Amending Directive (EU) 2022/2556 on Digital Operational Resilience for the Financial Sector were both published on the Official Journal of the European Union (“EU”) and will ente
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On the 28th November 2022, the Council of the European Union (“EU”) adopted the Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”) proposal. A year earlier, on the 24th November 2021, the Council of the EU adopted its negotiating mandate on DORA,
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On the 10th of November 2022, the European Parliament has adopted its position at first reading in relation to the Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”). First published by the European Commission on 24th September 2020, DORA is part of
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Following months of consultations, discussions and proposals, the final version of the proposed Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (“MiCA”) was approved by the European Council on the 5th of October 2022, confirmed by the Council’s Permanen
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On the 6th September 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular on Article 6 of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (“EMIR”) which states the following: “ESMA shall establish, maintain and keep up t
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On the 5th August 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) launched its Corporate Governance Code for MFSA authorised entities (the “Code”). This Code came into being after a process of consultation, where many respondents wel
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On the 23rd August 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular as a final reminder to authorised persons of their obligation to submit their response to the Fintech Adoption Study Questionnaire (“FAS”) not later
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On the 24th of September 2020, the European Commission adopted a Digital Finance Package, which includes a digital finance strategy, together with three legislative proposals on Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”), Markets in Crypto-As
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The financial services sector is an ever-evolving field which will continue to grow and advance. This is understood by the European Union (“the EU”) and in 2020, the European Commission issued the Proposal for a Regulation on Markets in Crypto
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The MiCA Proposal: Why is it important? On the 30th June 2022, the European Council and the European Parliament announced that a provisional agreement was reached on a proposal for a Market in Crypto-Assets (“MiCA”) Regulation. The MiCA propos
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On the 12th July 2022, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (“CPMI”) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (“IOSCO”), published their final guidance on stablecoin arrangements confirming that the Prin
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In 2019 the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) extended its anti-money laundering and counter- financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”) measures’ oversight to also cover Virtual Assets (“VAs”) and Virtual Assets Service Providers (“VAS
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On the 30th June 2022, European Union (“EU”) officials agreed on a ‘balanced deal’ making the EU the first continent to provisionally regulate crypto-assets through this landmark law known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets (“MiCA”). The
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On the 2nd June 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs”) published a statement which clarifies the draft regulatory technical standards (“RTSs”) issued under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”). The statem
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On the 17th June 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) congratulated Malta for the significant progress it has made in addressing the strategic Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“AML/CFT”) deficiencies pr
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On the 15th June 2022, Maltese news sources revealed that following a secret plenary vote, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) voted to remove Malta from its grey list. A formal announcement of the decision is expected to be made this Fri
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On the 30th May 2022, Regulation (EU) 2022/858 (the “Regulation”), which introduces a pilot regime for Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT”) market infrastructures, was formally signed by the co-legislators. The Regulation lays down requir
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The European Commission has recently adopted a Delegated Regulation (the “Regulation”) containing the regulatory technical standards to be observed by financial market participants and financial advisors. The Regulation should be followed when
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On the 18th March 2022, the Malta Sanctions Monitoring Board issued a guidance note on the interpretation of Article 5b of Council Regulation 2022/328 regarding the sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Following amendments on the
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On the 14th February 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular notifying investment services providers of the changes carried out to the Conduct of Business Rulebook (the “Rulebook”), originally issued by the
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The European Commission (the “Commission”) launched a proposal for a regulation laying down the rules and regulations on the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). With this proposal, the Commission aims to ensure the safety of such usage
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On the 18th October 2021, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) issued a revised version of the Implementing Procedures: Part I (“IPs”) which are accessible from the FIAU website. Adverse Media Section 3.5.1(a) of the IPs was a
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On the 26th October 2021, the Companies (Amendment) Act (the “Amendment Act”) was enacted in order to amend the Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta) (the “Act”). From an overview of the amendments undertaken, it seems that the goa
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a circular addressed to Fund Managers and Collective Investment Schemes (“CIS”) falling within the scope of the Securities & Markets Supervision Function. In order to conform w
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On the 5th August 2021, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA“) issued a Circular reminding relevant entities that the Investment Firms Regulation and Directive (the “IFRD Package“) came into force on the 26th June
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On the 6th April 2021, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a publication predominantly directed to credit institutions, highlighting that due to the COVID-19 pandemic many businesses and households have experienced financial
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The Conduct Supervision Function within the Malta Financial Services Authority is currently conducting a number of focused on-site inspections at investment firms to assess the application of product governance rules adopted by the selected firms.
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On the 13th January 2021, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) issued a public statement reminding firms falling under MiFID II on the requirements applicable to the provision of investment services to retail or professional
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On the 16th December 2020, the German cabinet passed a draft legislation intended to allow the possibility for shares to be issued and registered in an electronic manner. This move has been applauded by stakeholders as it follows the German govern
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On the 11th December 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued cross-sectoral guidelines titled: Guidance on Technology Arrangements, ICT and Security Risk Management, and Outsourcing Arrangements (the “Guidance”). T
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On the 10th December 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular as the 1st briefing to the industry on the impending implementation of the Investment Firms Regulation (“IFR”) package. The package consists of th
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On the 4th December 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular advising relevant entities on the derivatives reporting obligations emanating from the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (the “Regulation”
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On the 1st December 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a consultation document on the updated Company Service Providers (“CSPs”) Rulebook. The updates to the CSP Rulebook will be applied in order to align such Rul
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On the 19th November 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular as a follow up to their previous publication to provide a clarification to counterparties which fall within the definition of ‘non-financial counter
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On the 23rd November 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular bringing to the attention of relevant entities the publication made by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) which identifies countries which c
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On the 10th November 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a circular informing the industry on the revisions made to the Loan Funds Rules, that shall apply as from the date of the issued circular. The new rules shal
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On the 13th October 2020, the Parliament of Malta sat for the second reading of the Company Service Providers (Amendment) Bill (the “Bill”) which is to effect the amendments envisaged by the Malta Financial Services Authority in its feedback
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On the 19th October 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular addressed to all market participants and entities which undertake Securities Financing Transactions (“SFTs”) falling under the Securities Financing
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On the 14th October 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular on its findings following the compliance inspections related to Regulation 648/2012 ‘The European Markets Infrastructure Regulation’ (“EMIR”) w
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On the 24th September 2020, the European Commission (“EC”) issued its digital finance package consisting of a digital finance strategy and regulatory suggestions on crypto-assets and digital resilience in order to push for a competitive EU f
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On the 24th September 2020 the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a report containing its review on the appropriateness of the Market Abuse Regulation (“MAR”). The report has concluded that, in general the MAR has
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On the 2nd September 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a Circular outlining the effect of Brexit on the applicability of Directive 2000/31/EC (the “Directive”) which covers a broad range of online activities. The
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On the 25th August 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular on the updates made to the Investment Services Rules (the “Rules”) applicable to Collective Investment Schemes. The Rules have been updated by addin
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On the 11th August 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a circular on the initiatives undertaken by the EU on sustainable finance while also providing an outline of the legislative instruments that will come into fo
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On the 15th July 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has issued the final version of its Guidelines on the disclosure requirements imposed upon relevant entities under the Prospectus Regulation (“Guidelines”). Thes
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On the 17th July 2020, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) issued a Guidance Document on Funding of Terrorism (“FT”) which supplements and integrates the 2018 ‘Guidance Note on Funding of Terrorism – Red Flags and Suspici
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By means of a notice issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) on the 15th July 2020, the MFSA reminded all licence holders of their obligations in relation to record keeping. In order to ensure consumer protection, complia
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On the 10th July 2020, the Malta Business Registry (the “MBR”) issued a notice in relation to the Companies Act (Public Companies – Annual General Meetings Regulations) 2020 (the “Regulations”), which Regulations address the requirements
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On the 29th June 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published its reply to the Commission’s consultation on a Digital Finance Strategy for Europe. The transformation of the financial sector taking a digitised form a
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On the 3 July 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”), published a Circular addressed to MiFID firms, fund managers and self-managed Collective Investment Schemes (the “Licence Holders”) falling within the remit of the se
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On the 3 July 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) notified firms classifying as MiFID firms, Fund Managers and Collective Investment Schemes (the “Licence Holders“) that various amendments had been carried o
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On the 30 June 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Consultation Document on the Guidance on Technology Arrangements, ICT and Security Risk Management and Outsourcing Arrangement (the “Guidance Document̶
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On the 10th June 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Circular addressed to all Company Service Providers (the “Circular”) regarding the Sectoral Risk Assessment and Action Plan on Legal Entities, Legal Arrang
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Various Financial Services Laws (Amendment) Act By means of Act V of 2020, Various Financial Services Laws (Amendment) Act, various financial services laws have been amended, including amendments to the Companies Act (the “Act”), Chapter 386 o
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On the 1st June 2020, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (the “FIAU“) issued a notice informing involved parties that by means of Legal Notice 214 of 2020 (the “Legal Notice”), a series of amendments were made to the Preventi
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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (the “FIAU“) has issued a Consultation Document in relation to the Draft Regulations providing for the establishment of an Automated Centralised Mechanism for the Collection and Retrieval of Dat
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On the 8th May 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”), issued a Circular addressed to Investment Services Licence Holders which qualify as MiFID Firms (the “Licence Holders”), where the MFSA noted that even though the C
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On the 23rd April 2020, the Sanctions Monitoring Board (the “Board”) issued a Circular addressing the Administrative Penalties under the National Interests (Enabling Powers) Act (the “Act”). Indeed, the Board highlighted that by means of
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On the 20th April 2020, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (the “FIAU”) issued a notice to remind all Subject Persons to submit the Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (the “REQ”) by not later than the 4th May 2020 at 17:00. Moreover, the
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On the 9th April 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued its Feedback Statement (the “Feedback Statement”) regarding its Consultation Document (the “Consultation Document”) issued on 22nd October 2019 which sou
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On the 17 April 2020, the MFSA issued a circular on Regulation (EU) 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (the “Market Abuse Regulation” or “MAR”) which is addressed to listed entities wh
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On the 7th April 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a media release in light of the impact on the local regulated market due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, where it explained that the MFSA is continuously engagin
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By means of a notice issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) on the 6th April 2020, the MFSA informed the public that, in order for it to provide a formal basis for co-operation between the MFSA and the Malta Business Registr
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On the 3rd April 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its Guidelines on performance fees in investment funds applicable to Undertakings for the Collective Investme
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On the 6 April 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority ( the “MFSA”), issued a Circular addressed to Investment Services Providers, making reference to Rule R4-3.2.7 (the “Rule”) of Part BI of the Investment Services Rules for Investm
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On the 26 March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) has issued a Circular addressing the unprecedented cybersecurity risks that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon the financial services sector. As many licence holders
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On the 25 March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular as part of its efforts to protect retail customers during the current COVID-19 crisis. In the circular, the MFSA reminds relevant firms of its expectations
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On the 25 March 2020, the Malta Business Registry (the “MBR”) issued a notice on the submission of Annual Returns and Financial Statements. The MBR reiterated that every company is required to submit to the MBR their Annual Return, together wi
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On the 25 March 2020, the Malta Business Registry (the “MBR”) issued a notice on the submission of Annual Returns and Financial Statements. The MBR reiterated that every company is required to submit to the MBR their Annual Return, together wi
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently issued a decision to temporarily require the holders of net short positions in shares traded on a regulated market within the European Union (the “EU”), to notify the rele
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On the 21st March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the "MFSA") issued a circular in relation to the timing of regulatory reporting in view of the current outbreak of COVID-19. Indeed, as stated in various communications issu
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has just issued a circular providing more information in relation to the overhaul of the licensing and application process. Indeed, pursuant to the Press Release issued by the MFSA on the 14th Fe
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On the 21st March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a circular in relation to the timing of regulatory reporting in view of the current outbreak of COVID-19. Indeed, as stated in various communications i
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On the 16th March 2020, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (the “FIAU”) issued a number of measures as a reaction to COVID-19 outbreak, including measures in relation to the submission of the Risk Evaluation Questionnaires (“REQs&#
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The Malta Financial Services Authority ("MFSA") has recently issued a circular addressed to all licence holders providing its expectations contingency planning in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and which is applicable to Investment Firms
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On the 13th March 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority ("MFSA") issued a circular addressed to listed entities whose financial instruments are admitted to trading on a trading venue and which relates to the outbreak of COVID-19 (
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The Malta Financial Services Authority ("MFSA") has issued a notice to bring to the attention of all authorised firms, recognised and licensed persons that as part of its contingency plan in relation to COVID-19, the procedures for the c
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published a circular on the 5th of March 2020 bringing to the attention of market participants the European Commission’s (“EC”) launch of a public consultation. This consultation relate
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Following the Malta Financial Services Authority’s (the “MFSA”) issue of the ‘MFSA FinTech Strategy’, whereby six pillars were identified, the MFSA issued a Consultation Document on the 4th July 2019, regarding the first pillar, being th
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The following is the second part of an article which provides an overview of the major changes brought forward by the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. E-money and prepaid cards There is now increased transparency regarding e-money products b
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A Review of the EU Directive 2018/843 Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or ter
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It is crucial that Europe grasps all the potential of digital age and strengthens its industry and innovation capacity, within safe and ethical boundaries. Digitalisation and technology are significantly transforming the European financial system
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently updated its Questions and Answers (“Q&As”) in relation to various Regulations and Directives as provided hereunder: 1. Prospectus Regulation The two new Q&As provi
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ESMA updates its Q&As on the Securitisation Regulation The Malta Financial Sercvices Authority ("MFSA") has recently published a circular addressed to all interested stakeholders, in particular to the securitisation market participan
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The Malta Financial Services Authority ("MFSA") has recently issued a Circular on International Sanctions (the "Circular"). The aim of this Circular is to bring to the attention of all Financial Services Licence Holders the com
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has recently revised Financial Institution Rules FIR/01, FIR/02 and FIR/03 (the “Rules”) with the aim to reflect the recent amendments in the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the La
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On the 15th October 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a Circular on Self-Assessment on potential closet indexing practices adopted by Collective Investment Schemes targeting retail investors (the "Circular"
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On 22th October 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) has issued a consultation document (the “Consultation Document”) on which the MFSA is seeking feedback from the stakeholders. The purpose of this Consultation Docume
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On the 14th October 2019, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit ("FIAU") issued a consultation on the proposed revised version of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations ("PMLFTR") in order to
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The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA")has recently published a Consultation Paper on Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). This Consultation Paper provides a number of proposals which
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A guidance note was issued in October 2019 by the Sanctions Monitoring Board ("SMB") as the competent authority for the implementation of financial sanctions in Malta (the "Guidance Note"). The Guidance Note noted that all the
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On the 25th September 2019, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”) launched a public consultation on its proposals for a simple, transparent and standardised (“STS”) framework for synthetic securitisations. This new STS framework was intro
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The UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has recently published its ‘Guidance on Cryptoassets – Feedback and Final Guidance to Consultation Paper CP 19/3 (the "Guidance"). The Policy Statement followed the ‘Guidance
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On the 16th September 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) published a Circular in relation to the reporting requirement introduced in Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 (“CSDR”) and which relates to the quarterly reporting of in
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In our recently published article on the Regulatory Sandbox (the "Sandbox") being proposed by the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”), we presented that this Sandbox could be a great possibility for financial technology (
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The Malta Financial Services Authority ("MFSA") has today issued a Circular to Virtual Financial Asset Service Providers (the "Circular") addressed to those persons availing themselves of the transitory provision set out in Art
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The MFSA has recently carried out a number of changes to Conduct of Business Rulebook (the “Rulebook”) originally issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) on the 20th of December 2017. Indeed, following ESMA’s renewal of
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On the 27th July 2019, the European Parliamentary Research Service published a study with the title of "Blockchain and the General Data Protection Regulation" (the "Study") authored by Dr. Michèle Finck. This Study examined th
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (the "MFSA") has recently published a Consultation Document on the ‘Regulatory Sandbox’, which will provide the opportunity for its participants to test the commercial and regulatory viability o
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By means of L.N 158 of 2019 new amendments to the Register of Beneficial Owners Regulations (the "Regulations") under the Companies Act (Cap. 386) were enacted on the 12th of July 2019 in order to reflect the changes brought about by Dir
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (the "MFSA") has recently published an updated version of the Conduct of Business Rulebook (the "Rulebook") originally issued by the MFSA in December 2017, and which changes have become ef
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently published two guidelines regarding the stress testing of money market funds and reporting on money market funds to national competent authorities. These guidelines were publis
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On the 11th July 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) issued a Public Statement which aims to draw the attention of all regulated entities which either provide, distribute or sell Contracts for Differences (“CFDs”)
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a circular addressed to all licence holders operating in the Financial Services industry, bringing to their attention the revised version of the Implementing Procedures Part I, recentl
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On the 19th of July 2019 the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Consultation Document on Security Token Offering (the “Consultation”). This Consultation forms part of the Capital Markets Strategy, Pillar II – Revisi
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The “fit and proper” test is conducted by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) as part of its due diligence process which applicants for a licence in the financial services sector issued by the MFSA and the persons involved ther
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The Regulation (EU) No. 909/2014 on improving securities settlement in the European Union and on central securities depositories (the “CSDR”) lays down uniform requirements for the settlement of financial instruments in the European Union and
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Guidance Document for Credit Institutions, Payment Institutions and Electronic Money Institutions opening accounts for FinTechs On the 18th June 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit
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Binary options are cash settled derivative contracts based on the direction which the price of an underlying asset will take within a specified time frame and having only two possible outcomes that depend on whether the forecast price is correct (
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In 2007, the European Parliament and the European Council adopted the Shareholder Rights Directive (EU) 2017/828 (“SRD II”), amending Directive 2007/36 (“SRD I”). The aim of SRD II is to encourage long-term engagement of EU
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As of April 16th 2019, amendments were made to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations (“PMLFTR”) upon the advice of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) and published as Legal Notice 77 of 2019
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published on 3th April 2019 an updated version of the Conduct of Business Rulebook (“Rulebook”). This Rulebook contains the Conduct of Business Obligations to which the Regulated Persons
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As of 29th March 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has updated its Questions & Answers (“Q&A”) document regarding the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (No. 596/2014, “MAR”). The objective
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On the 28th March 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued circular on the proposed Temporary Permission Regime (“TPR”) which will be applicable to UK licensed investment funds, asset managers and investment firms (“U
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently published a document containing a list of thresholds below which an offer of securities would not need a prospectus. This list aims to create transparency around the different
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published a Consultation Document on its FinTech strategy (“Consultation Document”), with the aim of adopting a strategy where the MFSA focuses its efforts towards supporting such industr
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has issued three Questions and Answers (“Q&As”) regarding the Prospectus Directive (“PD”) and the Transparency Directive (“TD”). Background Overview The PD The PD harmonise
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By virtue of EU Regulation 2017/2402 (the “Regulation”) focusing mainly on simple, transparent, and standardised securitisations (“STS”), which came into full effect on January 2019, a harmonised set of rules now exist for securitisations
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On the 25th January 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a Circular (the “Circular”) to provide a status update on the practical implementation of the Virtual Financial Assets (“VFA”) framework. Application for
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a Circular to Issuers of Virtual Financial Assets (the “Circular”) identifying the way forward for Issuers of Virtual Financial Assets (“VFA”). The Circular caters for VFA Issu
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ESMA’s Advice to the EU Institutions on ICOs and crypto-assets The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently published its Advice to the European Union (EU) Institutions on initial coin offerings and crypto asse
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The Office of Commissioner for Revenue has recently issued three guidelines relating to the taxation of transactions involving Distributed Ledger Technology Assets (“DLT Assets”). The guidelines provide insight on the Commissioner’s position
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In light of the coming into force of the Virtual Financial Assets Act (“VFA Act”), the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) has published a consultation document on the application of the anti-money laundering (“AML”) obligati
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The MFSA has issued a consultation paper on the proposed additional regulation in relation to Initial VFA Offerings to complement the Virtual Financial Assets Act (“VFA Act”) and the proposed rules set forth in other consultation documents, in
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he Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published a circular clarifying as to when derivative contracts should be considered as financial instruments, and that companies trading in such transactions will have to either provide a rep
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As of the 1st July 2018, the new Gaming Act will require licensees to identify the persons responsible for the key functions, who will be issued with a Key Function Certificate following the Malta Gaming Authority’s (“MGA”) assessment of the
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The Virtual Financial Assets Act, The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act, and the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act have been published today. For more details please contact us on [email protected]
The MFSA has released a circular, addressed to all market participants falling within the scope of European Market Infrastructure Regulation (“EMIR”), on the implications on Clearing Through Central Counterparties (“CCPs”) established in t
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The MFSA has published a consultation document on the proposed draft legal notice (“Consultation Document”) which serves as setting out supplementary rules to the (“VFA Act”) regulating Virtual Financial Assets (“VFAs”). The Consultati
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Malta is set to become the first EU member state to regulate blockchain, DLT and cryptocurrencies, since on the 26th June, it was announced that Maltese Parliament has unanimously approved the three legislative bills on blockchain and Distributed
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Three years after the EU adopted the Digital Single Market Strategy, progress has been made, with 12 legislative proposals out of 29 being agreed by the European Parliament and the Council. Major new laws such as the GDPR and the end of mobile roa
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The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has published the details of a sandbox which will allow the use of Virtual Currencies (VC) and the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in the gaming sector. The sandbox will start in Q2 of 2018 and will last
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Due to inherent risks posed to investors, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has agreed to impose temporary product intervention measures on the provision of contracts for differences (“CFDs”) and Binary Options. ESMA h
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Further to the transposition of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive into Maltese Law the Malta Gaming Authority (“MGA”) has published an announcement that a new Anti-Money Laundering Unit has now been set up within its operational and r
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Investment-based crowdfunding, which is a relatively new concept within the financial services, could be the next gold-mine on Malta’s doorstep. With the Financial Services sector in Malta always reaching new heights, the MFSA was pro-active in
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The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the “4th AMLD”) which came into force on the 26th June 2015, recasts the previous third Anti-Money Laundering Directive (the “3rd AMLD”) and takes into account the 40 new recommendations adopted
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) has recently published a Consultation document on the Proposed Amendments to the Notified Investment Funds Regime (NAIFs). Proposed Changes The proposed changes seek to allow the possibility
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The Malta Gaming Authority (the “MGA”) has recently published a White Paper (the “White Paper”) proposing major amendments to the current legal framework. The intended reforms will eventually repeal the existing legislation and pave the wa
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Following the transposition of Directive 2013/34/EU regarding annual financial statements of companies, as from the 1st January 2016 there will be two major changes to the Companies Act: 1. The exemption from the preparation of consolidated accoun
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Dr. Omar Zerafa has recently published an article on LeapRate regarding the new policies adopted by the MFSA in relation to providers of binary options trading platforms. Read more on http://leaprate.com/uzmg5.
The MFSA has just updated its policy on online forex trading service providers, licensed as Category 2 or Category 3 Investment Service Licence holders. In its revised policy, the MFSA has lowered its threshold in relation to the requirement of a
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Legal Notice 464 of 2014 has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations (“PMLFTR”). The new amendments further clarify the provisions of the PMLFTR, extend the scope of the regulations and introduce
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Zerafa Advocates has been approved as an Introducer for Henley & Partners, the entity which has been awarded a Public Services Concession by competitive tender with regards to the design, implementation and international promotion of the Indiv
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On the 10th October 2014, the Commission has adopted an act containing the implementing rules for Solvency II, which will enter into force once they are approved by both the European Parliament and the Council. Solvency II takes into account the c
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The MFSA has recently published a set of documents formalising the implementation of the National Private Placement Regime (“NPPR”) in Malta. The NPPR allows Alternative Investment Fund Managers to market Alternative Investment Funds i
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The Corporate Governance Manual for Directors of Investment Companies and Collective Investment Schemes published by the MFSA has been updated to include the requirements of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”)
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The UCITS V Directive was published in the European Union’s Official Journal on the 28th August 2014. The Directive, amending Directive 2009/65/EC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings fo
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