Tag: Joe Cuschieri
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Regulatory Monitor – Malta’s XNT hit by resignations of its directors!
XNT LTD (previously known as Exante Ltd) is an investment firm incorporated in Malta and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Three directors resigned during the past months, namely Joseph Zammit Tabona, Michael Bianchi, and Lawrence Zammit. The present directors are Alexey Kirienko and Anatoly Knyazev; they have links with former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, allegedly the most corrupt politician in 2019.
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Neglecting Eurojust Guidelines – Maltese Authorities refuse to investigate scam-facilitator Paytah
Malta is greylisted for good reasons, mostly for their failing regulators. Malta-licensed, Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, refuses to assist the many victims who wired money to the company to top their accounts with broker scams like RoyalsFX, LincolnFX, or CodeFX. Victims reported these transactions to the MFSA. The regulator replied that they would not investigate and asked the victims to report Paytah to the Central Bank of Malta, which replied that it would not investigate such complaints. The victims also emailed Kenneth Farrugia, the Director of Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, who did not reply.
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Maltese Compliance Issue – Paytah accuses MFSA of acting in violation of the constitution
The regulated Maltese high-risk payment processor Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah, has sued its regulator, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Paytah accuses MFSA of being judge, jury, and executioner. The payment processor took this unprecedented step after the Maltese regulator fined it EUR 32,400 and restricted the company's license. This is not a normal civil court case. Instead, Paytah brought the claim against MFSA at the Constitutional Courts level. This is a first in Malta. Paytah has also sued MFSA for damages.
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New director joins Maltese Paytah amidst regulatory turmoil, money-laundering allegations, and victim claims
The Italian Alpesh Patel has been appointed as a director of the MFSA-regulated Phoenix Payments Ltd, d/b/a Paytah. The regulator approved this appointment. One fails to understand how the MFSA and the FIAU have so far failed in clamping down Paytah. According to the former Chief Compliance Officer Daniela Pesci, the Maltese payment processor is being investigated by Interpol for money laundering issues. She filed public court documents against Paytah at Malta Courts show that she had her job terminated as soon as she flagged serious regulatory shortcomings.
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Former Chief Compliance Officer reported Maltese payment processor Paytah to Interpol
Following the Paytah case, one fails to understand how the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) have failed to clamp down Phoenix Payments Limited d/b/a Paytah. Interpol investigates the MFSA-regulated high-risk payment processor, Paytah's former Chief Legal and Compliance Officer (CCO) claims. She is currently under the protection of the Maltese Whistleblower Act, but Paytah is still licensed. The public court documents show that she had her job terminated as soon as she raised material AML/KYC issues.
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European Compliance Mess – A challenging week for BaFin and MFSA
BaFin's President Felix Hufeld and Vice President Elisabeth Roegele had to resign because of the Wirecard scandal. Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to make a fresh start. In Malta, former CEO Joe Cuschieri and his longtime confidant and MFSA General Counsel Edwina Licari are involved in compliance issues. They have let themselves be invited to Las Vegas by Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is said to be the mastermind behind the murder of investigative blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia and suspected of bribing members of the former Maltese government.
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The Maltese Compliance Mess and the former MFSA CEO’s attempt to silence FinTelegram
The Maltese regulator MFSA is currently having a difficult time. Compliance is a rather exotic chapter in Malta. The opposition has revealed that the former head of MGA and short-lived MFSA CEO Joseph "Joe" Cuschieri accomplished more compliance breaches in just a few weeks than the entities supervised by the regulator. He allegedly did so even with the approval of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The misconduct uncovered includes 38 paid business trips with Edwina Licari and a free business trip to Las Vegas from the alleged murder mastermind.
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Regulatory Issues – Malta’s Financial Services Authority making the headlines for the wrong reasons
Joseph “Joe” Cuschieri, the former CEO of Malta's Financial Services Authority (MFSA), keeps hitting the headlines, despite his resignation. The chairman of MFSA, John Mamo, has confirmed in Malta’s Parliament that Cuschieri was being paid honoraria reserved for board members attending meetings; on top of his financial package as CEO. Mamo also revealed that Joseph Cuschieri was asked to return these extra payments.
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Scam-facilitating Maltese payment processor PayTah refused to recognize its legal responsibility
Payment processors must comply with the applicable KYC and AML regulations. Especially when onboarding new merchants and monitoring their transactions. Recently, we reported that the high-risk payment processor Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah (www.paytah.com). Paytah is to be held liable for this but has so far refused to accept its responsibility for intentionally or grossly negligently supporting the scams and refuses to provide any assistance to the victims.