Regulations, 2026

L.N. 83 of 2026

PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT

(CAP. 373)

Centralised Bank Account Register (Amendment)

Regulations, 2026

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 12 of the

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Minister responsible for

finance, acting on the advice of the Financial Intelligence Analysis

Unit, has made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Centralised Bank Citation.

Account Register (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 and these

regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Centralised S.L. 373.03.

Bank Account Register Regulations, hereinafter referred to as the

"principal regulations".

In regulation 2 of the principal regulations immediately Amends

after the definition "beneficial owner" there shall be added the regulation

the principal

following new definition

regulations.

" "competent authority" shall have the same

meaning as assigned to it under the Prevention of

Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism

Regulations;".

Sub-regulation (4) of regulation 6 of the principal Amends

regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation: regulation

the principal

regulations.

"(4) The data and information contained in the register

may also be accessed and made use of

(a) by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit to

reply to justified requests for information received from a

competent authority not listed in sub-regulation (1); and

(b) by any of the authorities listed in sub-

regulation (1) to reply to justified requests for information

received from foreign or supranational bodies having

similar functions after they have ascertained that the

requesting body applies confidentiality and data protection

requirements equivalent to those applicable to them

Provided that the authorities referred to in

paragraphs (a) and (b) shall disclose to the register the

requesting body to which any such data and information shall be

disclosed

Provided further that the authorities referred to in (a)

and (b) may provide for specific procedures for the receipt of

any request of information and may impose such conditions and

restrictions as they may consider necessary when replying to

any such request for information.".

Immediately after regulation 8 of the principal regulations,

there shall be added the following new regulations

" Settlement

(1) In the course of determining the

agreements.

imposition of an administrative penalty on a credit

or financial institution, the Financial Intelligence

Analysis Unit may, in its own discretion but in

accordance with the policies and procedures

referred to in article 13(2) of the Act, propose or

agree to a request, to enter into a settlement

agreement with the subject person or individual

concerned.".

(2)

The Financial Intelligence Analysis

Unit shall not enter into a settlement agreement

where

(a)

the

Financial

Intelligence

Analysis Unit believes that doing so would

not be in the public interest in accordance

with any policies and procedures as may be

established by the Board of Governors; or

(b) two (2) years have not yet

lapsed from the conclusion of any

corrective or remedial actions undertaken

by the credit or financial institution

concerned as part of a prior settlement

agreement

Provided

that

the

Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit may apply this

restriction either in general or in relation to the

different categories of actions that may be

undertaken in accordance with article 26 of the

Act but in any case it shall not enter into more

than two (2) settlement agreements with the same

subject person within a period of two (2) years

Provided further that where the credit

or financial institution forms part of a group, the

said limitation shall take into account any

settlement agreement entered into with any other

subject person within the group.

(3)

A settlement agreement shall be in

writing, signed, and shall be binding on the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and the credit

or financial institution concerned. The said

settlement agreement shall establish the terms and

conditions of the agreement and shall include

(a)

a

description

of

the

contraventions identified by the Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit and the

unconditional agreement therewith by the

credit or financial institution concerned;

(b) a description of any corrective

or remedial actions which the Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit may deem

necessary to restore compliance, where

applicable;

(c)

an undertaking by the credit or

financial

institution

concerned

to

implement the corrective or remedial

actions required by the Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit, within such

time-frames and subject to such conditions

as may be set by or otherwise agreed with

the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit;

(d) the

administrative

penalty

which the Financial Intelligence Analysis

Unit was intent on imposing on the credit or

financial institution concerned, and the

amount by which the said administrative

penalty is reduced on condition that the

credit or financial institution concerned

complies with the terms and conditions of

the settlement agreement;

(e)

an undertaking by the credit or

financial institution concerned to pay the

reduced

administrative

penalty

in

accordance with the terms established in

the settlement agreement;

(f)

a waiver by the credit or

financial institution concerned of any right

to appeal, review or to otherwise challenge

the determination and conclusions of the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit; and

(g) a declaration by the credit or

financial institution concerned that the

amount by which the administrative penalty

is reduced shall become due and payable to

the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit,

upon the Financial Intelligence Analysis

Unit’s determination that any corrective or

remedial actions as are referred to in

paragraph (c) have not been completed as

envisaged by the settlement agreement.

(4)

The amount of the administrative

penalty conditionally reduced in accordance with

sub-regulation (3)(d) shall be extinguished upon

determination by the Financial Intelligence

Analysis Unit that any corrective or remedial

actions required by the settlement agreement have

been carried out.

(5)

In the event that a settlement

agreement is not entered into due to lack of

interest or lack of cooperation by the credit or

financial institution concerned or within such time

as may be set out by the Financial Intelligence

Analysis Unit, the Financial Intelligence Analysis

Unit shall proceed with the imposition of the

administrative penalty in the full amount that it

was intent on imposing and the imposition of such

other measures as it is empowered by law to

impose and as it may deem necessary.

(6)

A settlement agreement shall be

considered to be completed when the said

agreement is signed by both parties and the credit

or financial institution concerned has paid the full

amount of the reduced administrative penalty in

accordance with the terms and conditions

established in the agreement, failing which, the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit shall proceed

with the imposition of the administrative penalty

in the full amount it was intent on imposing and

the imposition of such other measures as it is

empowered by law to impose and as it may deem

necessary.

(7)

In the event that, following the

conclusion of a settlement agreement, the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit determines

that the credit or financial institution concerned

failed, without reasonable justification, to comply

with the terms of the settlement agreement or with

any corrective or remedial action as required by

the agreement

(a)

the credit or financial institution

concerned shall, following a notice in

writing from the Financial Intelligence

Analysis Unit, forfeit any concession or

other benefit arising from the agreement,

and the amount by which the

administrative penalty had been reduced

shall become due and payable to the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit;

(b) the

Financial

Intelligence

Analysis Unit may by notice in writing take

such other measures as the Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit is empowered by

law to take, and as may be deemed

necessary in the circumstances, including

issuing directives in writing requiring the

credit or financial institution concerned to

do or to refrain from doing any act,

including such prohibitions, restrictions

and limitations under such conditions as

may be specified in the directives; and

(c)

the

Financial

Intelligence

Analysis Unit may institute an action

before the Civil Court, First Hall, to

recover from the credit or financial

institution concerned the amount by which

the administrative penalty had been

reduced in terms of the settlement

agreement, and to enforce the completion

of the corrective or remedial actions that

the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit

had imposed through the settlement

agreement.

(8)

Any such action shall follow the

procedure established in articles 167 to 170 of the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure

Provided that where leave to defend

the action is granted in accordance with article

170 of the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure or an appeal is otherwise filed from any

decision of the Civil Court, First Hall, the time-

frames established in article 13A(3) to (5) of the

Act shall apply mutatis mutandis

Provided further that articles 13A(6)

and 13C of the Act shall also apply mutatis

mutandis to any action referred to under this sub-

regulation or an appeal therefrom.

(9)

Where the Financial Intelligence

Analysis Unit files an action as referred to in sub-

regulation (7)(d), it may also request the court to

impose on the credit or financial institution

concerned additional penalties which shall not

exceed one thousand euro (€1,000) for every day

until the corrective or remedial actions are

completed.

When the Financial Intelligence

Communication

of

administrative Analysis Unit exercises its powers under

penalties and

regulations 8 and 9, it shall inform in a timely

measures to

manner the relevant supervisory authority or any

supervisory

authorities.

other authority, body or committee responsible for

the authorisation, approval, licensing, registration

or regulation of, or the granting of a warrant to,

the subject person or individual concerned and

shall provide all relevant information on the

contraventions committed as it deems necessary.

5. (1) The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit may, for a Transitory

period of six (6) months from the coming into force of these provisions.

regulations, accede or otherwise to a request for an out of court

settlement with respect to an appeal from an administrative penalty,

received from subject persons who, on the day of the coming into

force of these regulations

(a)

have an appeal pending against a decision of the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit imposing an administrative

penalty or notifies the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of

having filed such an appeal; and

(b) would have otherwise been eligible to enter into a

settlement agreement as provided for in regulation 9 of the

principal regulations had this been possible at the time that the

administrative penalty appealed from was imposed.

(2) The conclusion of an out-of-court settlement shall be

conditional on the subject person entering into a written agreement

with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit providing for

(a)

the unconditional acceptance and agreement by the

subject person with the determination and conclusion of the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit in relation to the

contraventions that had been identified;

(b) the acceptance of the administrative penalty as

reduced by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, which

reduction may not be more than fifty per centum (50%) of the

penalty’s original amount, and its payment in accordance with

the terms and conditions of the agreement;

(c)

the waiver of any judicial proceedings against the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and a declaration that the

subject person shall not seek to otherwise further impugn the

decision of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit; and

(d) the acceptance and immediate implementation of

any directives, requirements and any other directions to take

corrective or remedial actions that had been given by the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and that the subject person

may not yet have implemented.

(3) The provisions of regulation 10 of the principal regulations

shall apply mutatis mutandis whenever an out of court settlement is

concluded in accordance with this regulation.

€0.72