MFSA issues updated warning against 56 unlicensed VFA companies

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has issued an updated warning, listing 56 unlicensed Virtual Financial Asset (VFA) companies which failed to submit relevant documentation and are therefore not authorised to provide VFA services by the MFSA.

The regulator issued its first warning last April, after flagging 57 companies which in 2018 set up shop in Malta to enter a VFA services transitory period as a precursor to launching the licensing process, but failed to give formal notice to start official VFA licensing six months after the deadline expired in October 2019.

Companies availing themselves of the transitory period had two options once this period ended: submit a letter of intent to the MFSA to initiate the application process or submit a letter of cessation of activities to the regulator should an entity no longer with to provide such services.

Indeed, as of April 2020, only 26 companies, mainly exchanges, went ahead with initiating the application process for a VFA services licence. Since the blockchain and VFA laws were introduced in Malta in 2018, just one company, Tokenomica, has made headway in securing the coveted Class 4 VFA licence which is the regulator’s most comprehensive and is intended for crypto exchanges.

Last month Tokenomica announced it had been granted an ‘in-principle’ approval by the MFSA, which translates into a preliminary ‘green light’ until final details are ironed out.

On Monday, in the MFSA’s updated warning against VFA companies which failed to submit a letter of intent or cessation following the lapse of the transitory period, it listed 56 companies which are not authorised to provide VFA services.

Globiance Exchange Limited, which was listed in the MFSA’s April warning of unlicensed VFA companies, has been struck off the list in Monday’s warning.

The company is a financial services group consisting of cryptocurrency exchanges in Estonia and the UK, as well as a major payment institute in Singapore. According to reports, the company has officially applied for VFA licensing in Malta, which is further supported by it being struck off the MFSA’s warning list.

The MFSA’s full list of companies that are not authorised to provide VFA services and have not initiated the application process are as follows:

The regulator reminded consumers of financial services not to enter any financial services transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator.

Financial regulations oblige licensed entities to comply with strict legal requirements in the interest of investors and the integrity of the market. The activities of unlicensed entities are unregulated, making transactions with such entities risky for investors.