The fourth anti-money laundering directive : the implications on trustees

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to examine the impact that the proposed fourth Anti Money Laundering Directive will have on the Maltese trust sector. The dissertation also points out the work being done by the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the European Union, the Financial Action Task Force and the International Monetary Fund in order to fight Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism. We use a triangulation methodology approach to amalgamate the views of Trustees together with those of the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The main findings were that all participants thought the removal of exemption from conducting due diligence was a positive change as this will reduce risk for both the Trustee and also for the Country where business is being conducted. On the other hand participants had conflicting views as to whether the legislation would lead to more consolidation in the trust sector due to higher costs. The introduction of the Public Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners has also generated a lot of discussions and in fact the access to such a register has now been amended which change seems to have been welcomed by the trustees, by the regulator/supervisors and other organizations. An important finding was that the majority of Trustees foresaw a negative economic future for the Maltese Trust sector following the implementation of the new legislation.