Supervision
Supervision
The Supervision Section is empowered to fulfil its functions at Law, through Article 16(1)(c) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Its function revolves around monitoring anti-money laundering/combating the funding of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance by subject persons who carry out relevant financial business or relevant activity in terms of Regulation 2 of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations (PMLFTR).
The role of the Supervision Section is based on two main pillars.
- Identification and assessment of money laundering and funding of terrorism (ML/FT) risks posed by subject persons; and
- The supervision of adherence to AML/CFT obligations by subject persons.
To perform these functions, the Supervision Section is split into teams, as outlined below.
Risk Team
This Team is responsible for co-ordinating the risk assessment process of subject persons to create an ML/FT risk profile for each subject person which is utilised to guide the Supervision Teams in implementing risk-based supervision.
To achieve this, the Risk Team is responsible for formulating and applying the FIAU’s risk assessment methodology through the collection, analysis and assessment of data extracted from various data sources. This includes, but is not limited to, information from subject persons themselves (through the submission of the Risk Evaluation Questionnaire (REQ)), information provided by prudential regulators, information provided by the FIAU’s Intelligence Analysis Section, other information obtained from public and non-public sources, as well as results from the National Risk Assessment (NRA) and Supranational Risk Assessment (SNRA).
The Team also assists in the formulation of guidance to subject persons by analysing results of examination outcomes and remediation initiatives and providing recommendations for improving AML/CFT control frameworks.
Supervision Teams
To ensure adequate supervisory coverage of all the sub-sectors in which subject persons operate, the Supervision Team is split into three distinct teams:
Credit and Financial Institutions Supervision
The Investments, Gaming and VFAs Supervision Team
The Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) Supervision Team
Each team is mainly responsible for conducting compliance reviews to assess the subject person’s compliance with AML/CFT obligations stemming from the PMLA, the PMLFTR, the FIAU’s Implementing Procedures and any applicable binding guidance issued by the FIAU.
Remediation Team
This Team is responsible for reviewing remediation plans submitted by subject persons following the communication of shortcomings in their AML/CFT compliance programmes, as identified during compliance examinations.
The Team is also responsible for monitoring and following-up on the implementation of remedial action plans, while offering support to subject persons to ensure that the plans are effectively addressing the shortcomings identified during compliance examinations. In addition, the Remediation Team administers the Supervision Committee, which is responsible for determining the outcome of compliance examinations that did not result in the identification of serious, systematic and/or repetitive breaches of AML/CFT obligations. The Supervision Committee is composed of senior members of the Supervisory and Legal Affairs Sections of the FIAU.
Quality Control Team
This Team is responsible for the ongoing monitoring and the enhancement of the quality of supervisory related processes. In terms of Article 27(3)(b) of the PMLA, other supervisory authorities may carry out compliance examinations on behalf of, or jointly with, the FIAU. Specifically, compliance examinations are carried out on the FIAU’s behalf by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) on subject persons licensed by the respective authorities. The Quality Control Team assists the Supervision Teams and the delegated agents in carrying out their functions to achieve harmonised supervisory processes.
The Team is also responsible for reviewing and updating the section’s policies and procedures and providing training to supervision officers on any updates on supervisory processes to maintain the harmonisation of these supervisory processes.
