Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) Head of Financial Crime Compliance Matthew Scicluna has remarked that while the rapidly changing financial sector might seem “daunting”, speaking from the perspective of the regulator, he feels encouraged by the "industry’s commitment to work together to make Malta a secure place to do business”.

Speaking during Financial Crime Compliance: A Global Outlook, a conference organised by MFSA’s Financial Supervisors Academy, he highlighted MFSA’s “unique role” in limiting the threats posed by financial crime, particularly through its collaboration with Government partners, other regulators, and industry practitioners.

While financial crime is still a “sizeable issue”, Mr Scicluna remained optimistic about the way forward.

The conference, which saw the participation of a number of local and international regulators in the fight against financial crime, was opened by MFSA Chief Officer Supervision Christopher P. Buttigieg.

MFSA Chief Officer Supervision Dr Christopher P. Buttigieg during the conference

It was attended by over 500 delegates and tackled various key themes such as the MFSA’s role as “gatekeeper to financial services in Malta” and the existing partnerships between different authorities who are also key stakeholders in Malta’s anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism overall regulatory regime. The conference also emphasised the importance of corporate governance and a sound compliance culture, which should be considered as “the bedrock of an institution’s financial crime compliance programme”.

The National Coordinating Committee on Combating Money Laundering and Financial Terrorism, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the Malta Business Registry, the Sanctions Monitoring Board, the Bank of Italy, the Economic Crimes Squad from the Malta Police Force, and a number of supervisors from MFSA all addressed the conference.