Trustees & Other Fiduciaries Trustees are persons holding property, or in whom property is vested, for the benefit of particular persons and who are effectively the beneficiaries of the said property, which is administered by the trustee. A fiduciary is a person who acts for and on behalf of another in the context of other legal relationships similar to trusts which include mandate relationships and administrators of private foundations. Trustees and other fiduciaries are deemed to be gatekeepers to the financial system. FIND OUT MORE

Trustees and Fiduciaries

The Authority is responsible for the supervision of trustees and other fiduciaries.

The overall aim of the Authority is to monitor the supervision of authorised trustees and other fiduciaries, including administrators of private foundations and their level of compliance with the applicable legislative framework so as to ensure an appropriate degree of protection for the clients of persons carrying on such regulated activity. Trustees and other fiduciaries are deemed to be gatekeepers to the financial system in view of the fact that the structures which they set up may have wide-ranging effects and uses within the financial sector as a whole. In this respect the MFSA’s scrutiny of the trustee and fiduciary service providers is taken very seriously in view of the heightened risks which these sectors may pose.

The Authority adopts a risk based approach with respect to the supervision of trustees and other fiduciaries. A risk monitoring system is utilised whereby the data collated through the offsite supervision and any other intelligence available is inputted and a risk score is allocated to each authorised trustee or fiduciary. This risk score will determine the type and frequency of supervision conducted by the Authority.

The Authority adopts a mixture of tools with respect to supervision, with onsite inspections being the most frequently utilised method. This may take the form of either a comprehensive top down review of all the systems and procedures of the authorised person, or a focused inspection on a specific area.

Trustees and Other Fiduciaries

TUBOR

Trustees and Other Fiduciaries

TUBOR

The Trusts and Trustees Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations (“the Regulations”), published on the 20th December 2017 by virtue of Legal Notice 373 of 2017, transposed into Maltese law the provisions of Article 31 of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 20th May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, more commonly known as the 4th AMLD. These provisions relate to beneficial ownership information, including inter alia, the register of beneficial owners, in so far as these provisions are applicable to trusts and trustees. As a result of the coming into force of these Regulations on the 1st January 2018, any licensed trustee who was appointed as trustee for a trust which generates tax consequences in Malta, was required to submit a declaration of beneficial ownership for every such trust to the MFSA. The declaration includes the details indicated in the Regulations, including those related to the trustee, settlor, protector, beneficiaries or class of beneficiaries as well as any other person exercising control over the said trust. The MFSA also published Frequently Asked Questions on the 21st June 2018, and which are updated from time to time, in order to assist trustees in submitting the required declarations of beneficial ownership.  The Regulations also set out the parties entitled to access the beneficial ownership information in the register, and the extent of such access.

In 2020 the Regulations were amended by Legal Notice 27 of 2020 to comply with changes introduced by the 5th AML Directive (“5th AMLD”).  The amended legislation brought into the scope of the reporting requirements all trusts administered by trustees licensed in Malta, irrespective of whether such trusts generate tax consequences or otherwise.  Moreover, where a trustee whose place of establishment  or residence is outside of the EU enters into a business relationship, or acquires real estate in Malta, this shall also trigger the reporting requirements of beneficial ownership of such trust in the central register in Malta. Also as a result of these amendments, in addition to the existing unfettered access to competent authorities, and to subject persons for the purposes of carrying out due diligence on a particular trust, access has also been extended to any natural or legal person who can demonstrate a legitimate interest as defined by law, and to any person who makes a written request to view the beneficial ownership information of a trust which owns a company that is not incorporated in the EU.

The MFSA has developed an online platform for the Trusts Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Register (“TUBOR”) , in order to facilitate the electronic submission of beneficial ownership information of trusts as well as to provide online access to the said beneficial ownership information to the entitled parties in terms of law, at differing levels as outlined above.

To access TUBOR please click here.