Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has published its annual report for 2019. Here are some highlights from the report.
The FIAU implemented part of its 2019-2021 development plan last year. As a result, several changes in trends were observed. The number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed with the FIAU, which has been increasing over the past decade, reached a total of 2,778 in 2019. This marked a 65% increase in the number of STRs from 2018. The FIAU has attributed this increase to its training and awareness programs.
The highest number of STRs (1445) were filed by remote gaming companies, followed by credit institutions (962). Interestingly, 86% of the STRs filed in 2019 involved foreign natural or legal persons. Further, fraud was the most common suspected predicate offence.
The year 2019 also marked many changes in the FIAU’s supervisory framework. The FIAU diligently adopted a risk-based approach for supervision. It strengthened the role of its Compliance Monitoring Committee (CMC), thereby increasing its involvement in the decision-making process. Additionally, the FIAU implemented many new technological systems such as IT Knowledgebase System and a Visitor Management
