‘Las Vegas’ inquiry: conclusions lead MFSA to ratify Joseph Cuschieri resignation

The financial regulator’s board of directors has presented the results of its inquiry into former CEO Joseph Cuschieri’s paid holiday to Las Vegas with Tuman CEO Yorgen Fenech, to the finance minister.

In its statement the MFSA’s governors said it will ratify the resignation of Joseph Cuschieri, who resigned on Wednesday 25 November, saying its conclusions on Cuschieri “leads the MFSA board to ratify his resignation.”

But it said the conclusions of the inquiry do not warrant the continued self-suspension of MFSA general counsel Edwina Licari, who had travelled to Las Vegas together with the Tumas magnate and casino owner Yorgen Fenech back in May 2018. The financial regulator’s legal counsel Edwina Licari was still legal counsel at the Malta Gaming Authority at the time of the trip in May 2018. Fenech’s Tumas Group operated two casinos.

Dr Christopher Buttigieg will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer ad interim while the process to recruit a new CEO gets underway.

The inquiry was led by Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi and Dr Mark Simiana.

In his letter to the MFSA chairman, Cuschieri said he had taken his decision to step down “following a period of deep reflection – that in the circumstances it is both in the interest of the Authority and myself to part ways and avoid any unnecessary media attention and external pressures at such a critical juncture.”

Cuschieri said the resignation was not an easy decision for him, and that it had been his privilege to lead the MFSA through a radical transformation since 2018.

But he insisted that his resignation should “in no way be interpreted as an admission of any wrongdoing or misconduct on my part.”

Cuschieri said that as CEO he had carried out his duties to the best of his abilities and with integrity. “Major reforms were implemented in order to transform the MFSA into a more robust, dynamic and trustworthy financial supervisor,” Cuschieri said, thanking both the chairman and his management team and MFSA staff for their support.

Cuschieri had only just been appointed to the regular in May 2018 when he travelled with Fenech, Licari and Charlene Bianco Farrugia, a secretary from the Office of the Prime Minister, to Las Vegas. He was formerly chief executive of the MGA itself.