The Malta Financial Services Authority published an overview of its 2025 enforcement work, reporting 91 enforcement actions and penalties totaling EUR 570,673. It handled 943 investigations, including cases carried over from previous years, and concluded 492 during the year. The caseload covered regulatory reporting breaches, scams, unauthorized business and governance and internal control deficiencies. Late or missing statutory submissions drove 63 administrative penalties, about 69% of all enforcement actions, with 25 cases resolved through settlement. Licence Holders remain solely responsible for complete, accurate and timely reporting even when tasks are delegated. The authority does not issue deadline reminders, grants extensions only in exceptional circumstances and may penalize breaches based on factors including the length of delay and repeat violations during the previous three financial years. Investigations also identified client fund safeguarding failures at some financial institutions, including payment and electronic money institutions. Shortcomings included inadequate segregation, client money being used for daily operations, irregular reconciliations and weak governance and controls. The authority canceled one financial institution’s licence in 2025 partly for safeguarding breaches, and investigations into similar failings at other institutions remain ongoing.

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