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5 NEWS 26.10.2023 FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE, in col- laboration with IE University, has launched the seventh edition of its Social Innovation Awards to identi- fy projects with a high capacity for social transformation and a positive impact, which can demonstrate their value and potential for improving people's lives. Researchers, entrepreneurs, scien- tists and students from universities and business schools will be able to present solutions focused on three objectives: improving safe and sus- tainable mobility; promoting health and supporting healthy behavior; and promoting initiatives that encourage active aging, improving quality of life for people aged 55 to 75. e awards will be open in four re- gions, Brazil, the rest of Latin Ameri- ca, the United States and Europe. A total of 12 finalists will be short- listed, namely one for each category and region. e selection will take place between December 2023 and March 2024, during which time there will be five rounds of evaluation. e grand final, where the three winners (one per category) will be chosen, will be held in Madrid in May 2024. All twelve finalists will have the op- portunity to become part of a public relations plan, will obtain high visibil- ity in the eyes of potential investors, and will receive coaching and men- toring from experts in their fields so that they can develop their proposals in the most effective way. e winners will also receive free consulting ser- vices from Fundación EY and an indi- vidual prize of 40,000 euros. All the finalists will be part of this community of social innovators that fosters the exchange of expert knowl- edge and provides training, network- ing, and dissemination to enhance the projects. Anyone who is interested can submit their project up until November 30 on the Fundación MAPFRE website. Fundación Mapfre launches 7th edition of its Social Innovation Awards 'THE role of health care practi- tioners and Banks can be closely linked to one another, as we both serve important roles in society. Nurses in particular play a pivot- al role in the community caring for patients. Furthermore, they promote healthy lifestyles, ad- vocate for patients and provide health education. In contrast, the purpose of a Bank's core services is to help customers lead finan- cially healthy lives.' This was stated by Dipak Chou- han, Head of Business Develop- ment, Retail Banking at Bank of Valletta during the Malta Un- ion of Midwives and Nurses' (MUMN) annual conference, this year held in Gozo. Whether it is saving for your first car, dream home, marriage, children's future or retirement, financial planning is critical- ly important for someone who wants to realise these important life milestones. 'Bank of Valletta can provide financial solutions for any stage of one's life, helping its' esteemed customers through a wide range of products and services, backed by digital solutions, solid cus- tomer service and expertise,' continued Chouhan. 'BOV can help promote saving for the future, responsible bor- rowing, provide insurance and investment products to suit your needs and risk profile, which in turn can contribute to financial peace of mind that should lead to a better and less stressful life.' 'Nurses and midwives can have long gruelling schedules, and it can be difficult for them to de- vote the required time to assess, track and take the necessary steps to improve financial wellness. It is therefore more important to trust your finances in good hands. BOV provides tailored solutions to suit your unique needs through a diverse range of products and services that can be managed digitally anytime and anywhere,' Chouhan said. Bank of Valletta is a long-term partner of the MUMN and sup- ports its members' who provide high standard professional ser- vices to the Maltese community. Through this alliance BOV seeks to extend the necessary assis- tance to MUMN members, help- ing them develop a closer more enduring relationship with the Bank. BOV explains financial wellbeing to MUMN healthcare practitioners FROM PAGE 1 ere was a large spike in suspicious re- ports filed by virtual financial assets (VFAs) agents. In 2022, VFAs filed 965 suspicious reports. Back in 2019, they only filed eight reports. In 2021 they were responsible for 411 sus- picious reports, while in 2020 they filed 61 reports. ere was also a considerable year-on- year spike in suspicious reports by com- petent authorities. While 16 reports were filed by competent authorities in 2020 and 2021 combined, the number of filed reports jumped to 60 in 2022. A competent authority is responsible for the regulation and supervision of invest- ment, banking or insurance entities. In Mal- ta, the national competent authority is the MFSA. ere was also an increase in FIAU-gener- ated cases. ere were 154 such cases filed in 2022, while in the previous year there were 105 reports. In the two years prior, the number of reports filed stood at 35 and 32. e thousands of reports received or generated by the FIAU in 2022 concerned 11,492 natural persons and 3,384 legal per- sons. is is a 5% year-on-year increase in the number of legal entities about which a report was received. Among the natural persons reported, 15% originated from the United States, while 13% originated from Malta. e rest origi- nated from Canada, India, Finland, the UK, Germany, Austria, Ireland and Brazil. Meanwhile, 28% of reported legal persons originated from Malta. Among the reasons for suspicion in the re- ports, unknown sources of wealth or funds was the most prevalent, with 53% of reports citing this as the main reason for suspicion. e second most common reason was that the transaction activity was unexplained or inconsistent with the known customer pro- file. is was followed by a refusal to pro- vide source of wealth or funds information. In the majority of cases, the main sus- pected predicate offence could not be es- tablished. However, in 32% of cases, the suspected predicate offence was fraud. Tax evasion was the main suspected offence in 16% of cases. Last year saw a new record for suspicious transaction reports

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