A Malta-based investment firm has been hit with a €130,000 fine for regulatory breaches.
Investors Europe (Malta) was fined by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) after being found to have breached rules on client assets and risk management.
The MFSA is responsible for conducting investigations into potential breaches of financial services laws and regulations by regulated entities or individuals.
The fine is one of the highest imposed by the MFSA on a single company in recent years.
In a public announcement, the MFSA directed the company to amend its policies and procedures in order to have effective systems and procedures in place.
The company was also ordered to report to the MFSA on a monthly basis about the progress of the required amendments to its policies.
Investors Europe (Malta) provides execution, custody and depositary services to institutional clients and funds. Previously called Dolfin Asset Services, the company was set up in Malta in 2018 and became a member of the Malta Stock Exchange that same year.
Last year, the MFSA imposed penalties totalling €926,485 across over 100 cases.
The most investigated sector was investment services (187), followed by company service providers (91) and capital markets (43).
Non-submissions of statutory documentation accounted for almost half of the investigations in 2024.
Other prevailing issues included governance and internal control deficiencies, fitness and properness, shortcomings of the market abuse regulation and market manipulation.