How much disgrace and national damage can regulators produce? In Malta, a lot! A Malta league basketball match is the subject of a major police investigation in Malta. The smallest EU country is well-known as a hub for gaming companies. One of the match players, Anton Axiaq, happens to be a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) official. He works within the IT section. Maltese media reported that a criminal police investigation is underway. Axiaq has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigations
The sports betting fraud
The Malta basketball federation has fined the involved clubs, Hibernians and Depiro, and suspended coaches and players from top-tier basketball games. The two teams threw a league game a few days ago. The council ruled that the integrity of the game was lost when the score remained unchanged for the last 6 minutes of the game. Both sides appeared to make no effort to win the game even though the two teams were only a point apart. It is believed that players were involved in the alleged match-fixing because of their involvement in illegal gambling activities.
While the Malta basketball community is in shock over the episode, the world is in shock about another scandal in the environment of Maltese regulators. Here is why!
One of the suspended Hibernians players is Anton Axiaq (LinkedIn), pictured right, who works at the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This regulator supervised Maltese gambling including sports betting.
The troubled regulator
Question: How can one expect honest behavior from MGA employees or companies regulated by it when the regulator’s bosses are constantly involved in scandals? Answer: You cannot! The truth is, that the MGA (as the MFSA) has lethal structural compliance issues:
- the former MGS CEO Heathcliff Farrugia had to resign and facing criminal charges over alleged trading in influence with Yorgen Fenech, the former owner of the Portomaso and Oracle Casinos and alleged mastermind behind the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
- FinTelegram reported that James Grech, its Chief Officer Internal Auditor was carrying out private business while in office at MGA, raising conflict of interest concerns.
- The Authority’s chairman is the young lawyer Ryan Pace. He is still in his late 20s and has no experience whatsoever in the gaming industry. But he is a Labour Party activist, and used to work with the private legal firm of Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela. Friendship counts, conflict of interest are not invented in Malta.
- Carl Brincat (pictured left), CEO of MGA, made the headlines in recent months for awarding direct orders to Nexia BT, a company whose officials are being accused of money laundering in Maltese courts. Carl Brincat also assisted in dishing out a license to Habanero Systems, when he referred to due diligence as a “shitshow”.
Is anyone surprised that Malta was put on the grey list by the FATF for systemic money laundering issues and other regulatory problems? A system starts to fail when its regulators do not work decently or even give the doubt to work decently. This is unfortunately the case in Malta.
Hundreds of millions of euros are involved in the gaming sector in Malta, with top firms threatening to leave Malta, unless the country is not removed from the FATF grey listing within the coming months.
