Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/304008
News MALTA'S gaming authority has set up a defence of its internal processes, after a report by Malta's financial intelligence analysis unit (FIAU) said that suspected transac- tions relating to money laundering had been located inside the remote gaming business. Malta is one of Europe's leaders in providing gaming services and fi- nancial incentives for the set-up of gaming companies on the island. LGA executive chairman Joe Cuschieri said the LGA carried out due diligence on all applicants. "Individuals involved in the gam- ing sector are closely kept under review and monitored to make sure that the fit and proper test is satis- fied at all times. Malta has a strong reputation in this industry and a number of EU member states use Malta as a best practice model to launch remote gaming regulations in their own countries," Cuschieri said. As observed in 2012, the use of companies licensed by the LGA to operate in the remote gaming sec- tor featured in a number of cases referred to the police for investi- gation, the FIAU said in its annual report for 2013. A number of cases involved the use of remote gaming accounts held with remote gaming compa- nies licensed in Malta to launder the proceeds of crime. Cases varied from the use of prepaid cards to deposit potentially illicit funds in the remote gaming accounts with eventual withdrawal taking place through bank accounts; to the at- tempt to transfer funds held in the account to other persons, transfer- ring the ownership of the proceeds of the criminal activity. Cases involved the suspicion of the laundering of profits of illegal gambling through cash deposits in a bank account followed by sub- stantial wire transfers to online gaming companies registered out- side Malta. "The LGA works closely with the FIAU and law enforcement agencies whenever suspected money laun- dering transactions are brought to its attention through intelligence reports," Cuschieri told MaltaTo- day yesterday. "All intelligence reports are in- vestigated and reported to the po- lice for further investigations when appropriate. The FIAU report re- fers to 'suspected transactions' and not concrete proof of actual money laundering or criminal activity tak- ing place in the gaming industry. "As part of our anti-money laun- dering compliance procedures and controls we continuously monitor our licensees for any suspected transactions to ensure that Malta remains a reputable jurisdiction for remote gaming." Cuschieri also said that as a su- pervisory authority, the LGA com- plies with all domestic anti-money laundering regulations by submit- ting suspicious transaction reports to the FIAU. "The LGA fully cooperates with the police when the latter requests information whenever there is an ongoing criminal investigation and also when the police are requested from foreign law enforcement au- thorities to provide information re- garding gaming companies based in Malta." The use of Maltese bank accounts and international wire transfers have featured in the vast majority of suspected transactions reported to the police and the FIAU. Twenty-nine suspected offences were reported to the police in 2013, the highest amount since 2008, the majority pertaining to suspected fraudulent activity. The FIAU, which fights money laundering, said the most popular instances of suspected offences involved the use of Maltese com- panies and banks by foreign na- tionals, as vehicles to launder the proceeds of criminal funds gener- ated outside Malta. "The main trend observed dur- ing the year as that most cases re- ferred to the Police for investiga- tion involved the use of a company registered in Malta having at least one non-resident foreign benefi- cial owner. Once again, the use of Maltese bank accounts and inter- national wire transfers featured in the vast majority of the cases re- viewed," the FIAU said, In some cases, the subjects availed themselves of the services of Mal- tese professionals and service pro- viders. In these cases these entities were suspected of having been used unknowingly and unwittingly to launder criminal funds. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 APRIL 2014 Gaming authority keeping eyes open on suspect transactions – chairman