The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of Citizen Crypto Mining FX (“the Entity”) which has an internet presence at https://www.citizenchoicecryptofx.com/. The entity claims to be “a Maltese directed investment services supplier that works under European and Maltese guidelines”.

It also purports to be “authorized and regulated by MFSA as a MiFID firm and holds a Category 3 Investment Services License”, making unauthorised use and reference to the registered address and other company details of a Maltese licensed company.

The MFSA wishes to alert the public that Citizen Crypto Mining FX is NOT a Maltese registered company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any investment services or other financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. The public should therefore refrain from entering into any transactions or otherwise dealing with the above-mentioned entity on any matters falling within the parameters of the Investment Services Act, Chapter 370 of the Laws of Malta.

The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator.  Investors are advised to be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.

A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the MFSA.

If you are a victim of a scam or think you might be dealing with an unauthorised entity or any other type of financial scam, first of all stop all transactions with the company and contact the MFSA as soon as a suspicion arises.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “the Authority”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of CC Funds Capital (Malta) Limited (“the Entity”) which has an internet presence at https://ccfundscapital.ltd/. This website is making unauthorised use of details belonging to an MFSA licenced company CC Fund Services (Malta) Limited (C 45733) and claims to be recognised by the MFSA as a Fund Administrator that forms “part of the Calamatta Cuschieri Group”.

The Authority would like to inform the public that CC Funds Capital (Malta) Limited is NOT a Maltese registered company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. Additionally, the Authority confirms that https://ccfundscapital.ltd/ has NO association with CC Fund Services (Malta) Limited (C 45733).

The website https://ccfundscapital.ltd/ therefore appears to be a clone of the website of the legitimate entity and the public should therefore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the false entity on any matters falling within the parameters of the Investment Services Act, Chapter 370 of the Laws of Malta.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of Alpha Capital Trade (Cyprus) Limited (“the Entity”) which has an internet presence at www.alphacapitaltrade.com.

The Entity purports to be recognised by the MFSA as a fund administrator and falsely claims to be associated with a Maltese licensed company. It also declares that its website (www.alphacapitaltrade.com) has been approved and issued by the same regulated entity.

The MFSA wishes to alert the public that Alpha Capital Trade (Cyprus) Limited is NOT a Maltese registered Company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any investment services or other financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. The public should therefore refrain from entering into any transactions or otherwise dealing with the above-mentioned entity on any matters falling within the parameters of the Investment Services Act, Chapter 370 of the Laws of Malta.

The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.

A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the MFSA.

If you are a victim of a scam or think you might be dealing with an unauthorised entity or any other type of financial scam, stop all transactions with the company and contact the MFSA as soon as a suspicion arises.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “the Authority”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of Money+Card Payment Institution Ltd/ Epayzz (“the Institution”) which has an internet presence at https://epayzz.com/. From information available to the MFSA, the Institution claims to be a regulated Financial Institution licensed to undertake payment services under the 2nd Schedule to the Financial Institutions Act (Cap 367 of the Laws of Malta).

By way of background on the mentioned Institution, on 10 June 2019 the Authority requested the Institution to wind up its business, as well as to appoint a liquidator. Upon appointment of a liquidator, the Authority has on 9 August 2019 withdrawn the licence issued to the Institution in terms of Article 6(1) of the Act. Further information on the Authority’s regulatory action taken against the Institution can be found on the official website of the MFSA.

Further to the above, the MFSA wishes to remind the public that Money+Card Payment Institution Ltd/ Epayzz is NO LONGER licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any trading activities or other financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. The public should therefore refrain from entering into any transactions or otherwise dealing with the above-mentioned company or individual on any matters falling within the parameters of the Financial Institution Act (Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta).

The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.

A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the MFSA.

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) would like to bring to the attention of all subject persons the consultation paper which has been published by the European Banking Authority (EBA) containing draft Guidelines on the role, tasks and responsibilities of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance officers.

The draft Guidelines seek to regulate the AML/CFT governance set-up at an EU level, setting expectations of the role, tasks, and responsibilities of the compliance officer and the management body of subject persons, and their interaction, including at group level. More information on the draft Guidelines, including the consultation paper, may be found on the EBA’s website or by clicking the button below.

Once published, the final version of these Guidelines will be binding. Subject persons are therefore being encouraged to read the draft Guidelines and submit their feedback.

This consultation runs until 2 November 2021, and any comments or feedback to the draft Guidelines can be sent directly to the EBA by clicking on the “send your comments” button on the EBA’S consultation page.

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The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) would like to bring to the attention of subject persons that a newly dedicated portal dealing with the Cash Restriction policy has been created on the FIAU website. Therein, subject persons may find a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Use of Cash (Restriction) Regulations, which came into force last March.

These FAQs highlight the main obligations found in the regulation, give examples and provide answers to the most common questions received, with the aim of making as clear as possible the obligations which emanate from the same. The intended audience for the said publication are traders, buyers and notaries and therefore it is not applicable to all subject persons.

FAQs

The Commissioner for Revenue is notifying that the tax payment deadline of eighteen months following the end of the accounting period, applicable to companies in possession of a determination under the relevant paragraphs of Article 47 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act (DDTA determination), shall for the Year of Assessment 2021 apply also with respect to tax payable by a fiscal unit on its chargeable income provided that all members of the fiscal unit are either in possession of the DDTA determination or non-resident companies not liable to tax in Malta.

With respect to fiscal units not entitled to the eighteen-month extension as per above, the deadline for the payment of settlement tax with respect to Year of Assessment 2021 is that applicable to companies not in possession of a DDTA determination.

For the avoidance of doubt, tax payable on chargeable income allocated to the foreign income account of the principal taxpayer shall in any case become due within eighteen months after the end of the accounting period.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “the Authority”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of Legit Crypto Option or Citizen Crypto Mining FX (“the Entity”) which has an internet presence at https://007cryptooption.com/index.html. From information available to the MFSA, the Entity claims to be “authorized and regulated by MFSA as a MiFID firm and holds a Category 3 Investment Services Licence”.

The MFSA wishes to alert the public that the Entity is NOT a Maltese registered Company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any investment services or other financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law.

Furthermore, information available to the MFSA suggests that the Entity is likely to be a scheme of dubious nature with a high risk of loss of money. The public should therefore refrain from entering into any transactions or otherwise dealing with the above-mentioned company or individual on any matters falling within the parameters of the Investment Services Act, Chapter 370 of the Laws of Malta.

The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of financial services via unconventional channels such as telephone calls or social media.

A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the MFSA.

If you are a victim of a scam or think you might be dealing with an unauthorised entity or any other type of financial scam, first of all stop all transactions with the company and contact the MFSA as soon as a suspicion arises.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA” or “the Authority”) has become aware of an entity operating under the name of Hillwood Limited (“the Entity”) which has an internet presence at https://www.hwlimited.com/. This website is making unauthorised use of a similar name and reference to the registered office address of a Maltese registered company, Hillwood Limited (C 74031).

The entity presents itself as “a specialist asset manager” and an insurance company which provides “customers with individual insurance solutions and professional service.”

The Authority would like to inform the public that https://www.hwlimited.com/ is NOT a Maltese registered company NOR licensed or otherwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any financial services which are required to be licensed or otherwise authorised under Maltese law. Additionally, https://www.hwlimited.com/ has NO association with Hillwood Limited (C 74031).

The website https://www.hwlimited.com/ therefore appears to be a clone of the legitimate company and the public should therefore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the false entity.

The MFSA would like to remind consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the Authority.

For more information on clone companies please refer to the Scam Detection Guidelines issued by the MFSA/. If you are a victim of a scam or think you might be dealing with an unauthorised entity or any other type of financial scam, first of all stop all transactions with the company and contact the MFSA as soon as a suspicion arises.

On 21 February 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (‘the MFSA’ or ‘the Authority’) issued a Public Statement in which it noted that Binance is not authorised by the MFSA to operate in the virtual assets sector in Malta. Following the issuance of various recent warnings by competent authorities of other jurisdictions 1, along with an increase in complaints relating to dealing with unlicensed entities, including Binance, the Authority wishes to reiterate that Binance is not licensed nor authorised by the MFSA to conduct any VFA related activities in or from Malta and therefore falls outside the MFSA’s regulatory oversight.

The MFSA reminds consumers to refer to the Authority’s Guidance Note to the Public Regarding Cryptocurrency Scams, which provides consumers with guidance on how to identify scams, and steps to take to avoid falling victim to them.

Furthermore, consumers of financial services and persons transacting in the crypto sector are reminded to be wary of online adverts and on social media promising high returns on investments in cryptocurrency or cryptocurrency-related products. Consumers should not enter into any transactions unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator. Regulated entities are subject to various requirements which aim to offer higher levels of consumer protection to their clients. A list of VFA Service Providers authorised by the MFSA may be found here.

Any queries related to the above should be addressed to VFA@mfsa.mt.