Licence-holders will recall that the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Notice on 20 May 2008, reminding licence holders of their duty to inform it of any information held by them known or suspected to be connected with any individuals or entities listed in Regulations issued under the National Interest (Enabling Powers) Act.

This Notice serves to bring to the attention of all licence holders the recent coming into force of new restrictive measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran imposed both by the European Union and the United Nations. The latter have been implemented locally by the United Nations Sanctions (Iran) (Further Sanctions) Regulations, 2010, which were published on 27 July 2010, and represent Malta’s alignment to sanctions or measures adopted by the United Nations. The European Union Regulation has direct effect in Maltese law and requires no implementation measures.

The regulations can be viewed at: http://doi.gov.mt/en/legalnotices/2010/07/LN372.pdf or in the section marked “Sanctions Implementation” on the MFSA website.

Licence-holders have a duty to comply with all laws and regulations in this area, and must keep abreast of developments, including any changes to the lists contained in the Regulations which may occur from time to time. It is recommended that the United Nations Security Council website (http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/) and the European Commission website (http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/cfsp/sanctions/index_en.htm) are referred to periodically for updates on the lists of sanctions.

The MFSA also directs all its licence-holders to verify their records on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that any financial transactions carried out do not in any way support activities which are subject to sanctions or other restrictive measures. Similarly, necessary action, such as freezing of assets, should be taken in respect of any current financial relationships undertaken by licence holders with individuals or entities, in accordance with the provisions of law. Relevant transactions may relate to funds, financial and other assets, insurance, banking, trusts or any other financial services.

Licence-holders are required to inform the relevant authorities of any action taken, should they identify any transactions or information held by them which is known or suspected to be connected or related in any manner whatsoever with any of the relevant activities or individuals/entities listed in the measures.