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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 MAY 2017 8 MATTHEW VELLA A host of previously unreported investment breaches by the direc- tor of All Invest are still under in- vestigation by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), three years on from a strongly-worded warning. Documents seen by MaltaToday show that the financial regulator sent All Invest director Wallace Fal- zon the results of its investigation in March 2014 that pointed out 14 individual breaches of investment rules, inviting a reaction from Fal- zon within 30 days. MaltaToday is not informed of the representations made by Falzon. Despite the apparent seriousness of the breaches, not least due to the number of investors who had suffered losses, the matter remains under investigation to this day by the MFSA. "Please note that the investiga- tions on this case are still ongoing and are covered by confidentiality," the MFSA told MaltaToday when in April it pointed out the contents of this letter. All Invest's licence was already suspended in 2013. But on 3 March, 2014, the then MFSA director- general, Andre Camilleri, informed Wallace Falzon of an investigation into All Invest's business and his conduct as sole director, specifi- cally on the way the property fund LandOverseas and bonds from Dutch bank SNS had been sold to clients who were not experienced investors. The investigation was carried out to establish whether Falzon and All Invest had complied with licence rules, after the MFSA received complaints from investors. The breaches in total carried a €34,908 penalty, with the MFSA de- claring that Falzon was "no longer fit and proper to act in any capac- ity, as an approved person" to be personally licensed by the authority. The breaches were separate from those already indicated in 2013, which led to Falzon being barred from receiving any new business. Specifically, the MFSA found that All Invest had sold shares in the LandOverseas Property Fund – a Maltese fund for the development of the 'Borgo Lucia' villa complex in Sicily's Noto area – to 33 inves- tors who did not meet qualified investors status. All Invest failed to provide signed copies showing that the clients had signed declarations that they were qualified to invest in this fund. Similarly, the MFSA found no evi- dence of signed 'experienced inves- tor' declarations for clients of the LandOverseas Distributor Fund. In respect of at least 16 investors who invested in the fund in November 2012, the MFSA said that "All In- vest cannot be regarded as having acted honestly, fairly and profes- sionally" with clients over the fees, commissions and non-monetary benefits between LandOverseas and All Invest. In fact, there was no disclosure to clients that Wallace Falzon had a conflict of interest between his role as investment advisor of All Invest and a member of the investment committee of the LandOverseas Distributor Fund. Again in the sale of SNS Bank bonds, All Invest was said to have acted inappropriately when it sold the bonds at a price pre-agreed between All Invest and Sparkasse Bank, rather than at their current price. "All Invest did not disclose to its clients the existence, nature and amount of the commissions re- ceived from Sparkasse Bank." In its concluding remarks, the MFSA said the numerous breaches were "very serious" and that Falzon was responsible to ensure they did not occur. "It appears that your con- duct was below the standard which would be reasonable in all the cir- cumstances and that your decisions and actions resulted in the above breaches." "Your apparent personal failure to disclose information about a clear conflict of interest appears to con- stitute a breach of fiduciary duties," the MFSA said. News LandOverseas, SNS breaches investigation still ongoing three years on PN pledges cheaper fuel and no LNG tanker MATTHEW AGIUS PN leader Simon Busuttil has pledged to remove the LNG tanker moored in Marsaxlokk and replace it with a gas pipeline to Sicily – one of nine proposals related to energy announced yes- terday. Speaking at a press conference in Attard, Busuttil pointed out that fuel prices in Malta had con- sistently ranked among the high- est in the EU for several years. The PN leader said one of the first things he would do if elected to government would be to re- duce petrol and diesel prices by 5c, adding that he would keep the price below the EU average for five years. A PN government would buy electricity from the cheapest source available, which currently was the undersea interconnector, and pass on the savings to the consumer, he said. With Malta the only EU country not meeting its targets on green- house gas emissions, Busuttil said a PN government would encour- age more use of public transport and reduce private car reliance. It would also incentivise the use of renewable energy by of- fering grants and feed-in tariffs and by installing more solar pan- els on top of public buildings, he said. Busuttil assured voters that private solar rights would be protected by ensuring that those persons whose solar panels were affected by lack of sunlight caused by new buildings would be compensated for this by the State. Another proposal was to offer tax rebates to companies which have "green roofs" and which use that space for recreation. A PN government would also look into the feasibility of devel- oping solar roads, Busuttil said. Other countries are heading towards the use of these roads, which double as solar panels, Bu- suttil added. Malta had great po- tential to utilize the limited space and large exposure to sunlight the island enjoyed, he said. THIS IS A PAID ADVERT