Malta Financial Services Authority has named Kenneth Farrugia as its new chief executive as it acknowledged the several changes in its leadership over recent years "were not beneficial for the Authority".

Farrugia, who was previously director general at the island's Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) and director of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), starts his new post on 12 April, 2023.

In a statement on 4 April, the MFSA said: "In its deliberations the Board took note of the several changes in the leadership of the Authority that took place over the last years and acknowledged that these were not beneficial for the Authority. 

"The Board agreed that the appointment of the right person to lead the Authority over the coming years was now a matter of urgency. 

"The Board acknowledged also that the previous open and international call for applications for the position of Chief Executive Officer had not benefited the Authority to the desired extent and agreed that a public call for applications for the post of Chief Executive Officer would not be in the best interests of the Authority at this point in time."

The Board concluded that "Farrugia has the required skills with proven leadership to provide the necessary impetus to implement the changes and reforms required by the organisation going forward".

It further said Farrugia was well known for his achievements and for successfully carrying out major reforms and strengthening both authorities.

"Farrugia is technically very well prepared and has exceptional organisational development skills. 

"He is also personally very well regarded at an international level by a number of supranational authorities including the European Commission, European Banking Authority, Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and MONEYVAL, and has been acclaimed by the US government for his achievements and integrity. 

"He is also highly regarded by the wider community of industry stakeholders in Malta, which is considered essential for the MFSA."
The Board unanimously agreed that Mr Farrugia has the right attributes, experience and proven track record to carry out the necessary structural, organisational, and operational reforms within the Authority and to successfully lead it forward over the coming years.

"In the meantime, the Board would like to thank Dr Michelle Mizzi Buontempo who held the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer for the past months and was instrumental in the publication of the Authority's latest Strategic Statement."

The recent history of the leadership of Malta regulator saw Irish lawyer Joseph Gavin made CEO step down last year after becoming CEO in July of 2021, taking over from Joe Cuschieri who resigned in 2020 for breaching MFSA ethics.

In a separate public statement last week (29 March), the MFSA published a redacted version of the review it commissioned into Joe Cuschieri and Edwina Licari.

The statement said: "In keeping with the principles of good governance, in October 2020 the Malta Financial Services Authority's Board of Governors had commissioned a review to carry out necessary verifications with regard to possible breach of ethics by former CEO Joseph Cuschieri and General Counsel Dr Edwina Licari.

"A month later the MFSA communicated to the public the conclusions of the Board of Review's report through a Public Statement.
"On 1 March 2023, the MFSA received a decision notice from the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) in relation to a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request submitted to the Authority which asked for a copy of the Board of Review's report.

"The MFSA's Board of Governors discussed the IDPC's decision and resolved to publish the report without exercising any right of appeal.

A copy of the report is being made available on the Authority's website. The report's redacted version is in line with the IDPC Decision Notice FOI 02/2021.

Click here to read it.