Virtual Financial Assets (Amendment) Regulations, 2022

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta Nru. 20,774, 27 ta’ Jannar, 2022 B 221

L.N. 25 of 2022

VIRTUAL FINANCIAL ASSETS ACT

(CAP. 590)

Virtual Financial Assets (Amendment) Regulations, 2022

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 38 of the

Virtual Financial Assets Act, the Minister responsible for the

regulation of financial services, acting on the advice of the Malta

Financial Services Authority, has made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Virtual Financial Assets Citation.

(Amendment) Regulations, 2022 and these regulations shall be read

and construed as one with the Virtual Financial Assets Regulations, S.L. 590.01.

hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 4 of

the principal

regulations.

(a)

in sub-regulation (2) thereof

(i) for the words "The exemptions laid down in

paragraphs (d), (f), (g) and (o)", there shall be substituted

the words "The exemptions laid down in paragraphs (d),

(e), (f), (g) and (o) of sub-regulation (1)"; and

(ii) immediately after the proviso thereof, there

shall be added the following new provisos

"Provided further that the applicability of

the exemption laid down in sub-regulation (1)(d)

shall be automatically operative in the case of a

natural person

Provided further that any person who

intends to benefit from the exemptions laid down

under paragraphs (d) or (e) of sub-regulation (1)

shall, when requesting a determination in writing

from the competent authority, provide a written

declaration to the competent authority which shall

include a statement on the level of activity which that

person plans to conduct, whether such person will be

engaging employees to carry out such activity, the

business model and the identification details and

address of every ultimate beneficial owner

Provided further that, following the

determination in writing from the competent

authority, any person benefitting from the exemptions

laid down under paragraphs (d) or (e) of sub-

regulation (1) shall submit to the competent authority

a written declaration, at the end of each calendar year,

which shall include the following information

(a) a statement on the level of activity

carried out during the preceding year, which

activity would have been licensable had that

person not been exempt;

(b) whether such person engages

employees to carry out such activity and, if

applicable, the number of employees engaged;

and

(c) a confirmation that, from the date on

which such person obtained a determination in

writing from the competent authority in terms

of this sub-regulation, there were no changes to

the business model and to the information

provided to the competent authority on the

ultimate beneficial owners."; and

(b)

sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be deleted.

Immediately after sub-regulation (2) of regulation 25 of the

principal regulations, there shall be added the following new Part VI

"Part VI

Transitory Provisions

Any person, who on the date of the coming

into force of the Virtual Financial Assets (Amendment)

Regulations, 2022 is carrying out an activity in terms of

paragraphs (d) or (e) of regulation 4(1), shall within one

month from the date of coming into force of the Virtual

Financial Assets (Amendment) Regulations, 2021, seek

a determination in writing from the competent authority

in terms of regulation 4(2) and provide the competent

authority with the following information

(a) a description of the business model;

(b) a statement on the level of activity

which that person plans to conduct and the level

of activity carried out during the preceding year,

which activity would have been licensable had

that person not been exempt;

(c) a statement on whether such person

engages or will be engaging employees to carry

out such activity and the number of employees

such person has engaged and, or plans to engage,

if applicable; and

(d) the identification details and address

of the ultimate beneficial owners.".

€0.18