Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1373323
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 MAY 2021 INTERVIEW remote gaming and offshore company activity, amongst oth- ers. What specific challenges do you see Malta's FIAU facing in this regard? Actually, the size of the country presents several inherent advan- tages. For example, the number of subject persons in Malta (which presently stands just under 2,500), is manageable. We are well-po- sitioned to reach out, communi- cate and assist subject persons in understanding their obligations and how to implement them in practice. The physical size of the Country and our institution- al framework greatly facilitates cooperation and coordination among the competent authorities of Malta both on policy and oper- ational matters. Nevertheless, Malta's economy and subject persons are dynamic and quick to respond to business opportunities. One of our main challenges as supervisors and as an intelligence agency is to ensure we keep pace and abreast with the changes taking place in the sectors that we supervise, such as the de- velopments of new niche markets, products or services. We also need to make sure we maintain the momentum that has developed over these past years and make the most of the invest- ments into the FIAU. How does Malta now stand, after no small amount of scrutiny and criticism, with international bodies such as Moneyval, the European Banking Authority and the Financial Action Task Force? How has the FIAU reacted to this scrutiny? How has Malta's standing changed, and why? Malta's standing has consider- ably improved with the authori- ties you've mentioned. If you take the European Banking Authority as an example, the EBA is fully aware of the changes made to the FIAU's supervisory and enforce- ment processes as regular liai- son was maintained between the FIAU and the EBA as the FIAU was taking action to implement the EBA's recommendations in 2018. The FIAU has implement- ed overhauled its supervisory and enforcement policies and proce- dures to ensure it has addressed all the recommendations. Today, we are proud to say that we have a fantastic working relationship with the EBA and we value their support and contribution in rais- ing AML standards across the EU. We have been invited by them to participate in panel discussions and in training events, and we have also participated in projects and working groups led by the EBA on specific anti-money laun- dering topics. Also, following the FIAU's ac- tions to address the EBA recom- mendations, we now have in place one of the best risk-based super- visory mechanisms in the Europe- an Union and beyond - so much so that we are being asked by the authorities of other countries to walk them through the changes we have implemented so they can learn from our experiences and, in turn, improve their own supervi- sory mechanisms and systems. What new powers and tools has the FIAU been given to fight money laundering, one exam- ple being the new €10,000 cash limit legislation? How impor- tant is this tool and why was it deemed necessary? There are several new tools and laws that have come into place lately with respect to the fight against money launder and ter- rorism financing, and the cash restriction law is just one of them. There is also, for example, the Centralised Bank Account Reg- ister (or CBAR), with the enact- ment of a specific law, and with the setting up of the system itself which is now up and running. This means the FIAU can access bank account information in, lit- erally, a matter of minutes. Speaking of the cash restriction law, there are different reasons why it was implemented. Not only was it one of Moneyval's recommendations to consid- er introducing a mechanism to address the money laundering risks of use of cash in Malta, but Malta's cash-intensive economy meant that the Country needs to ensure that any associated money laundering risks are adequately mitigated. As such, having this law in place simultaneously helps in the fight against tax evasion and money laundering in cases where pro- ceeds of crime in the form of cash need to laundered. This law itself should serve as a deterrent and reduce the ex- cessive use of cash in Malta now that, as a first step, the law is in place. As a second step, the FIAU shall be embarking on an educa- tional and an awareness raising campaign to inform the public of the recently enacted law, what it means to them and what the re- percussions could be if one were to break the law. The FIAU is resourcing its newly set up Cash Restriction Section that will be responsible for enforcing this law on the ground.