The MFSA wishes to alert the public, in Malta and abroad, that AtlasFMI is NOT a Maltese registered Company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide the service of an exchange or other financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. The public should therefore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the above-mentioned entity.

For more information, click here. 

Over recent weeks, several international institutions published their best guesses at quantifying the economic damage by the novel Coronavirus on national, regional and the global economy. One cannot go without noticing the considerable variation between projections and the frequency of revisions given the uncertainty ahead. Economic forecasting in a ’business-as-usual‘ environment is already challenging, let alone when confronted by a black swan event1 such as the COVID-19 outbreak.

Economists attempt to use their sophisticated econometric toolkit to model the severity of the decline in output and debate which shape – be it U, V or W – the economic recovery will assume. However, the uncertainty ahead warrants a caveat that these projections are subject to notable downside risks with economic repercussions which no model can possibly capture.

To read more click here.

It has been brought to our attention that as from January 2020, HSBC Audit Bank confirmation letter fees have increased. Following an enquiry by the Institute with the bank it was clarified that the service has been outsourced to a third party service provider and fees are chargeable as follows:

• Direct HSBC fees will be charged by the bank to the end client;

• Third party service provider fees will be charged to the auditor, who will then disburse these fees to the end client.

The FIAU would like to remind all Subject Persons who have not yet submitted the Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (REQ), to process their submissions without undue delay and by not later than the 18th May 2020 at 17.00pm.

By means of this notice, the FIAU is informing all Subject Persons that following this deadline, the REQ will only be available to be completed for information purposes. Subject Persons who fail to submit the REQ by 18th May 2020 deadline are still encouraged to complete the REQ but may still be subject to an imposition of an administrative penalty in terms of Regulation 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations (S.L 373.01).

Subject Persons who have already submitted the REQ are requested to disregard this notice. While, Subject Persons who would like to confirm that the REQ has been submitted may do so by logging into the CASPAR Portal and confirming that the REQ status for the year 2020 appears as ‘Completed’.

The FIAU would like to bring the below Notice to the attention of all members:
The FIAU would like to remind all Subject Persons who have not yet submitted the Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (REQ), to process their submissions without undue delay and by not later than the 18th May 2020 at 17.00pm.

By means of this notice, the FIAU is informing all Subject Persons that as from 18th May 2020, the REQ will only be available to be completed for information purposes. Subject Persons who fail to submit the REQ by 18th May 2020 deadline are still encouraged to complete the REQ but may still be subject to an imposition of an administrative penalty in terms of Regulation 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations (S.L 373.01).

Subject Persons who have already submitted the REQ are requested to ignore this notice. Subject Persons who would like to confirm that the REQ has been submitted, may do so by logging into the CASPAR Portal and confirming that the REQ status for the year 2020 appears as ‘Completed’.

Notice from the FIAU:
 
The FIAU understands that subject persons are facing unprecedented challenges and operating in difficult circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
It has now become clear that the virus is a breeding ground for criminals and criminal organizations seeking to exploit the situation. The ensuing economic crisis has likewise given criminals the opportunity to thrive.
 
As Europe gradually emerges from the holds of the pandemic, the criminal landscape is only just beginning to flourish, and the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing are increasing.
 
As part of its ongoing assessment of the situation, the FIAU would like to advise on current and anticipated threats, address arising concerns, and remind subject persons to remain vigilant in the face of ML/FT risks.
 
Kindly click here to access the latest guidance document by the FIAU in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

The Office of the Commissioner for Revenue would like to notify all MIA members that it will be adopting the guidance issued by the OECD Secretariat on the 3^rd of April 2020 on tax treaty issues and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. This guidance can be accessed here.

The said Office affirms that the application of this guidance is of a temporary nature due to the current exceptional circumstances.

Click here to view the document.

The Malta Business Registry is notifying all subject persons with regards to amendments to sub-Regulation 12(2) of the Companies Act Regulations, 2017. See notice in link.

The MIA is in receipt of the below Notice from the FIAU:
 
The FIAU would like to remind all Subject Persons who have not pre-registered on the new STR submission system (goAML), to proceed in registering without undue delay and by not later than 29th April 2020.
 
Subject Persons who have already submitted their registration are requested to ignore the notice. Subject Persons who would like to confirm the registration, please refer to the confirmation email sent to their registration email. Subject Persons that are running into technical difficulty in submitting their registration, please contact us on goamlsupport@fiumalta.org. More information about this system and a technical overview of the system can be found here.
 
Please note that the registrations on the new system will be approved in the coming weeks closer to the go-live date (22nd June 2020). In the meantime, please continue to use the existing STR submission system.