Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1301782
3 NEWS 22.10.2020 FinanceMalta hybrid annual conference brings together all industry stakeholders FINANCEMALTA'S 13th Annual Con- ference was a first of its kind, given it was a hybrid event with proceedings taking place at a conference venue in Malta whilst being connected via video to oth- er contributors, panellists and facilita- tors in Malta and across the world. e conference was being relayed live through a web event platform that also ensured networking and interaction be- tween the over 300 registered partici- pants. With the theme 'Innovation in Finan- cial Services: gearing up for the new post COVID-19 era', the event was held over three afternoons between 13 and 15 Oc- tober 2020. e event brought together over 35 high-calibre speakers from various sec- tors of the financial services industry. All stakeholders were represented, includ- ing the country's authorities, regulators, foreign and local experts, practitioners, lawyers, enforcement entities and the media. e topics covered during the three afternoons included Malta's vision for the financial services industry, MON- EYVAL and AML, Malta's efforts in upgrading its regulatory, supervisory and enforcement resources to ensure a robust and healthy financial services sector, sustainable finance, develop- ments in the European and Maltese tax environment, innovation in the sector, as well as a focus on asset management and insurance. Rudolph Psaila, Chairman of Finance- Malta, said: "We are overwhelmed and humbled by the positive feedback re- ceived, which gives us more energy to keep on being innovative and reach new heights. All this could only be achieved thanks to all our sponsors, as well as the great quality moderators, panellists, speakers and all participants, for joining us throughout the three-day event. A special thanks go to the team at Finance- Malta for their dedication and support." Psaila said that the annual conference confirmed once again that all stakehold- ers share the same goal to continue fight- ing financial crime and "make Malta's financial system a hostile place for crim- inals to do business in". "is is a priority for all of us, not just to pass the MONEYVAL test but to con- tinue attracting reputable companies to Malta. It is important that practitioners, regulators, authorities and other stake- holders work together to achieve an ef- fective, proportionate and fair regime that works for us all with the ultimate aim of improving the jurisdiction's of- fering as a centre of excellence in finan- cial services," Psaila said in his closing speech. Psaila said that, as a country, Mal- ta needs to continue focusing on in- novation – and innovation cannot be achieved without digitalisation: "To steer the course on this journey, we have to embrace change and such transforma- tion starts with people. We must trans- form ourselves to attract sustainable in- vestment, remain competitive and better serve the market and our communities. It's an ambitious task, but one which we can all achieve together." "We need to keep on developing a pol- icy framework to enable innovation to thrive while maintaining a level playing field for all stakeholders within the sec- tor," Psaila said. FinanceMalta Chairman Rudolph Psaila addressing the 13th Annual Conference FROM PAGE 1 Agam's civil lawsuit against both ex- ecutives and BNP itself is for what he alleges was the bank's deliberate and unlawful destruction of his business's assets, costing him €1 billion in invest- ment operations because of attacks on his financial standing, and projects sus- pended. BNP and the executives dispute the claim. e bank says Agam, 65, and his sister Ruth, 68 had tried to wriggle out of their financial obligations to BNP, by preventing it from seeking repayment of monies loaned to the siblings' com- panies through a novel case: arguing that BNP's merger with its Singapore arm was invalid since it took place with- out consent sought from the French fi- nance minister. BNP has previously argued that the Vertical case should not be heard in Malta, and has claimed it has no busi- ness there. ey deny the existence of a plot against the claimants and say the claims of antisemitism are conjectures by the claimants which are denied. Agam and Vertical claim the alleged campaign against his interests started after he raised concerns with BNP fol- lowing a number of major public scan- dals involving the bank. In 2014, BNP pleaded guilty to two criminal charges and agreed to pay almost $9 billion to resolve accusations it violated US sanc- tions against Iran, Sudan and elsewhere. According to Agam's lawsuit, the bank targeted him by abruptly terminating Vetical's investment facilities without justification and attempting to seize family properties. Agam alleged that BNP's lawyer Valerie Lafarge-Sarkozy used anti-semitic language, referring to Jews as "ces gens-là" ("these people") – a highly derogatory phrase in the French language – and "parasites". He accused BNP of retaliating with a smear campaign against him and Verti- cal Group. e bank rejects the allega- tions brought. "My claim is that the bank's actions against me were partly motivated by ra- cial bigotry and antisemitism. is has been especially hard to live with given BNP's admitted criminal and unethical behaviour in the recent past," Agam said in a statement. "BNP is, quite literally, a scandalous organisation. Bonnafé and Lemierre have presided over those scandals.... for the first time, the CEO and Chairman will be put under the spotlight, required to explain BNP's controversial involve- ment in Malta, and to justify its previ- ous claim that it did no business there." Agam's lawyer Pio Valletta said this was an important test-case on the ap- plicability of EU rules. "It demonstrates that nobody can escape from their stat- utory duties, not even a mighty organ- isation like BNP and its management. e recent ruling of the Maltese Court reaffirms the fundamental principle that 'be you ever so high, the law is above you'. Messrs Bonnafé and Lemierre may preside over the world's eighth-largest bank. But they and the bank must still submit to a serious examination of their actions before the court." Vertical Group Holding is headquar- tered in Malta, and owned by Jacob Agam, a former diplomat who trained as a lawyer in New York, working for a Wall Street firm. British financier Jacob Agam 'Scandalous': Malta-based British financier claims BNP Paribas destroyed his business