MFSA issued almost €600,000 in administrative penalties during 2025

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) imposed a total of 91 enforcement actions and administrative penalties amounting to €570,673 during 2025.

In a statement, the MFSA said a significant proportion of its enforcement activity related to the late or non-submission of statutory documentation. These breaches resulted in 63 administrative penalties, representing around 69 per cent of all enforcement actions taken during the year.

Beyond the 91 enforcement actions, the MFSA handled 943 potential enforcement cases arising from supervisory work and other sources.

The Authority stressed that timely and accurate regulatory reporting is a core obligation of all licence holders and cannot be delegated. It also reminded licence holders that the MFSA does not issue reminders for regulatory deadlines, while extensions are granted only in exceptional circumstances.

Although most enforcement cases concerned regulatory reporting breaches, the MFSA’s Enforcement Function also investigated a range of other matters, including potential unauthorised business, scams, and governance and internal control deficiencies identified through supervisory work.

The Authority also identified shortcomings in safeguarding practices at certain financial institutions, including payment and electronic money institutions.

These shortcomings included inadequate segregation of client funds, insufficient or irregular reconciliations, and weaknesses in governance and internal control frameworks.

In 2025, the MFSA cancelled the licence of a financial institution, partly as a result of breaches of safeguarding requirements. The Authority said further investigations in this area remain ongoing.

The Enforcement Function conducts investigations to establish whether regulatory breaches have occurred and whether enforcement action is warranted. Where appropriate, recommendations are submitted to the Authority’s decision-making body, with the aim of ensuring that any action taken is fair, proportionate, effective and dissuasive.

Regulatory measures available to the MFSA include administrative penalties, directives, licence suspensions or cancellations, and public reprimands.

Earlier in August, the MFSA announced a significant increase in potential administrative fines for banks and credit institutions where the maximum fine now is €12.5 million instead of €150,000.