The Malta Financial Services Association has officially revoked the licence of controversial bank, Satabank plc, which remains under police investigation.

In a statement, the MFSA announced that following its recommendation to the European Central Bank to withdraw Satabank’s licence on 30th June 2020, the ECB decided to withdraw the licence with effect from yesterday.

Ernst & Young Limited, which has been appointed by the authority to remain in control of Satabank as its ‘competent person’, is in charge of overseeing withdrawals from the bank. MFSA also stated that the controlled return of customer deposits will not proceed further, save for certain exceptions.

The notice stipulates that E&Y “will continue to process customer files where complete information required for the return of funds process has been received by 30 June 2020. The Competent Person will not be able to process files where pending queries remain outstanding as at 30 June 2020. The Competent Person will not be able to accept or review any new and/or additional information that is submitted after 30 June 2020.”

The notice urged customers who have been requested to provide payment instruction details by E&Y to submit this information at their earliest but not later than 15th July 2020.

“A controlled process for the return of customer funds was carried out on the basis of analysis conducted by the Competent Person upon submission of documentation by customers,” the MFSA added. “The Competent Person also conducted customer reviews and where appropriate compiled and filed suspicious transactions reports (STRs) as required, and responded to requests made by the relevant authorities including the FIAU and the police.”