MFSA strengthening international ties in fight against financial crime

The Malta Financial Services Authority is fostering stronger relationships with the US futures trading regulator to clamp down on financial crime, CEO Joseph Cuschieri said.

He was addressing delegates at the start of a three-day workshop co-organised between the MFSA, the US embassy in Malta and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The workshop entitled Virtual Assets: The Emergence Of A New Asset Class, started on Monday and will also see the participation of other foreign regulatory bodies including, members from the European Securities Markets Authority, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority and Mauritius’ Financial Services Commission.

The workshops will focus on financial crime in the context of virtual assets but will also touch on other areas such as the implications of the recently updated Financial Action Task Force recommendations, the various supervisory challenges posed by virtual assets to financial services regulators, and the importance of international cooperation in this field.

CFTC top officials Kevin Piccoli and Brian Trackman are amongst the 26 field experts speaking and taking part in the panel discussions aimed at providing the 140 delegates with more practical and hands-on insight into the regulation, supervision and enforcement issues associated with this nascent industry.

Brian Trackman, Attorney Lead, CFTC

“In our journey to become a top-tier regulator in Europe, we are committed to strengthen our ties with international institutions and regulators and join forces in our efforts to clamp down on financial crime,” Cuschieri said.

He embraced the US treasury official's call for a zero-tolerance approach during his visit to Malta last month, and added that the MFSA was “fostering stronger relationships with CFTC and the US embassy and engaging in knowledge sharing, so that we enter the FinTech space with the highest level of preparedness”.

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Mark Schapiro, said: “Enhancing public-private partnerships that expose and eliminate financial vulnerabilities is a top priority for the US embassy.  We value Malta’s partnership and commitment towards combatting money laundering and terrorism financing.  Through our close collaboration with the Maltese government, we are joining forces to confront some of this region’s crucial challenges – including corruption, money laundering, financial criminal investigations, finance terrorism, and illicit arms trade.”