A payments company challenged the constitutionality of a €454,293 FIAU fine for AML failures. The Constitutional Court overturned the lower court and confirmed that Malta's AML enforcement framework is lawful.
Constitutional Court of Malta · Constitutional Court of Malta · November 2024
Malta's Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) imposed a fine of €454,293 on Phoenix Payments Ltd for failures in its anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. Phoenix challenged the fine in court, arguing that the FIAU's penalty procedures violated the constitutional right to a fair hearing. A lower court initially agreed, declaring the fine unconstitutional. The FIAU appealed. In November 2024 the Constitutional Court reversed the lower court and upheld the fine in full. The court found that Malta's AML/CFT enforcement framework — including the way FIAU investigates, determines liability and imposes penalties — is consistent with the constitutional guarantee of a fair hearing. The ruling was significant context: by that point, over 11 lower court decisions had found FIAU penalty procedures unconstitutional in individual cases, and millions of euros in fines had been ordered returned. The Constitutional Court's decision drew a clear line — the framework itself is lawful, even if specific procedural steps in individual cases could be challenged. The FIAU announced plans to publish a new Enforcement Guide in 2026 to increase transparency about when and how it will pursue enforcement action. Since 2019 the FIAU has imposed over €29.5 million in fines across supervisory interventions that rose from 55 cases in 2018 to 870 between 2019 and 2024.
Lower court ruling overturned. FIAU's €454,293 fine upheld. AML/CFT enforcement framework declared constitutionally sound by the Constitutional Court.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act Ch. 373; FIAU Act; Constitution of Malta Art. 39 — right to a fair hearing; ECHR Art. 6 — right to a fair trial