FIAU Notice

Dear MIT Member

We have been informed by the FIAU that revisions are being proposed to the Implementing Procedures - Part I with respect to trusts.  Please find attached a copy of the proposed amendments to the relative sections of the document, for your perusal (click on the link below).

The FIAU informs that:

Primarily, the changes being implemented when it comes to corporate settlors, protectors and trustees, are intended to address comments highlighted in Malta's 2nd Round Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information Upon Request.  Therefore, the leeway we have to accommodate any possible changes is somewhat limited.  The following text is taken from the Report and may help put the matter better into perspective:

"Where the settlor, protector and/or the trustee are not natural persons, the subject person can limit themselves to consider any body (including legal persons) acting as such as a beneficial owner. Therefore, even though the definition of beneficial owners under the PMLFTR is transposed from the Fourth EU AML Directive, which is in line with the international standard, yet the binding guidance’s interpretation is not in line with the international standard, according to which where any of these persons are not natural persons, information in respect of the natural persons who are the beneficial owners of that entity or arrangement should also be available. This may impact the accuracy of the beneficial ownership information maintained by the AML obliged persons in Malta."

Furthermore, the second amendment that is being proposed is intended to better clarify what needs to be done by subject persons when identifying the beneficial owner of a body of persons and there happens to be a trust within the corporate structure, standing between the corporate customer and the natural person at the top of the said structure.


Kindly note that the FIAU intends to publish a revised version of the Implementing Procedures - Part I to target that noted in Malta's 2nd Round Peer Review Report, along with other changes agreed to with the funds' sector, by the beginning of March.

The deadline for the submission of feedback to the FIAU is Thursday the 25th of  February 2021.

You are invited to send any comments or feedback you may have to us on cto@maintax.org by Monday 22nd February 2021 so that we can include them in any MIT feedback.