Watch the full webinar from our past event below:
This session was hosted by Kevin Valenzia, with key panellists, Wayne Pisani President at IFSP, Kenneth Farrugia Director at FIAU, Christopher Buttigieg Chief Officer Supervision MFSA, and Fabio Axisa President of the MIA.
3rd September 2020, 17:00 – 19.00 CET | Live Webinar | Click here to book
About our Moderator
Kevin Valenzia recently stepped down as managing partner of PwC in Malta, after having served for eight years in that role. He had been a partner at PwC since 1987, and was instrumental in helping to develop Malta’s financial services industry. Amongst a number of other appointments, he is a past President of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners, past Chairman of the Financial Services Consultative Council, and one of the first Governors of Finance Malta. He has also been used by successive Governments for advice on the continued development of Malta’s financial services sector, and continues to sit on the Financial Services Working Group, chaired by the Minister for Finance.
About our Speaker
Heading the regulatory and compliance practice at Grant Thornton in Malta, Wayne deals with a wide range of asset protection and cross-border regulatory and tax planning engagements, advising clients ranging from private clients, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals, to NASDAQ listed companies. He conducts an active consulting practice on the legal and tax implications involved in the structuring of both local and international financial institutions, M&A and project finance transactions.
Wayne is the president of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and a member of the board of governors of FinanceMalta. He is also a member of the International Fiscal Association, the International Bar Association and the Maltese Chamber of Advocates. He was admitted to the Bar in 2001 following a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and International Relations, and a doctorate in legal studies from the University of Malta in 2001 after researching and submitting a thesis on “Merger control: a comparative study of regulatory systems for potential implementation into the Maltese legal system.” Wayne also read for a Masters in Financial Services at the University of Malta, graduating in 2003 after submission of a thesis entitled “The Impact of Information Technology on Financial Services”. In 2018, having successfully submitted a research project on “Tax arbitrage in ICOs: a European perspective”, he was awarded an ADIT by the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
He is a published author and an active thought leader in the financial technology space, making regular contributions at fintech conferences, and has a passion for the security and technological aspects of distributed ledger technology. He is also a joint contributing author to “European Competition Laws: A Guide to the EC and its Member States, the leading legal compendium with respect to Competition law in Europe”, published by Lexis Nexis and revised annually.
About our Speaker
Kenneth Farrugia, Director of the FIAU, holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) and an MA in Business Ethics. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a fellow member of the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) and a member of the Malta Forum of Internal Auditors (MFIA). Throughout his career, Mr Farrugia held audit positions both within private audit firms and the public sector.
Prior to joining the FIAU, for nine years up to 2017, he was engaged within the Government of Malta’s Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) and, as from November 2017, he headed the department as Director General. Mr Farrugia has extensive experience in EU Funds Audits, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Financial Investigations and OLAF Anti-Fraud Co-ordinating Services (AFCOS) related matters.
He provided support to the Internal Audit & Investigations Board (IAIB) to draft policies and procedures, to implement and manage the necessary change programmes and served as Secretary to that Board. Mr Farrugia participated in various meetings, seminars and conferences organised by the European Commission in the fields of auditing and financial investigations.
Since joining the FIAU in 2017, Mr Farrugia has provided strategic direction to the various sections of the Unit, including the section responsible for intelligence analysis, the AML/CFT supervisory and enforcement teams, and legal and international relations section. Additionally, Mr Farrugia, together with the FIAU Management team, initiated a process of reform/restructuring of the FIAU’s overall operations to better meet the challenges emanating from ML/TF risks in Malta. He frequently represents the FIAU in international fora, including the EBA AMLC, FIU Platform and EGMONT.
About our Speaker
Dr Christopher P. Buttigieg was appointed as Chief Officer Supervision in March 2020 following his appointment as Chief Officer Strategy, Policy and Innovation in 2019.
During his tenure as Head of Securities and Markets Supervision before 2019, which stretched over four years, Dr Buttigieg was responsible for work in the field of policy, regulation and supervision of securities, markets and FinTech. He joined the Authority in 2000 as Manager in the Investment Services Unit and has gained professional experience in various areas of financial regulation, supervision, the investigation of market misconduct and the enforcement of sanctions.
Dr Buttigieg was responsible for implementing various pieces of EU legislation in the field of securities and markets and has led different regulatory and supervisory teams within the Authority. He sits on the Authority’s Supervisory Council and represents the MFSA at various European Fora on financial regulation and supervision. He is the MFSA’s alternate member on the ESMA Board of Supervisors and is the Chair of the ESMA Data Standing Committee.
Dr Buttigieg is a lecturer in the Banking and Finance Department of the University of Malta and has published various papers on financial regulation and supervision in academic and professional journals.
For a period of two years, up to April 2015, Dr Buttigieg was a director on the board of the Malta Resources Authority, Malta’s energy regulator. In 2015, the President of Malta appointed Dr Buttigieg as a member on the board of the Fund for Voluntary Organisations. Dr Buttigieg is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of European Law (Trier).
About our Speaker
Fabio Axisa, is Assurance Partner, at PwC Malta and has been the President of the Malta Institute of Accountants since 2019. Mr Axisa joined the PwC Malta in July 1995 after obtaining a degree in Accountancy from the University of Malta. He is actively involved in a cross-section of the firm’s audit practice with a special interest in work related to the banking and finance industry.
