Warranted professionals, like doctors, accountants and engineers, have to abide by minimum standards of behaviour defined by statutory regulations.
All warranted professions invariably have a second layer of more defined standards which their members are expected to follow. Self-regulation is one of the most jealously defended rights of all warranted professions.
Recent events connected with the alleged abuse of power and non-observance of behavioural standards by three accountants have been a severe cause of concern for many in the accountancy profession. Accountants Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Manuel Castagna, working for accountancy firm Nexia BT, are being charged with serious crimes, including fraud, falsification of documents and money laundering.
Nexia BT partners alleged financial crime has turned accountancy into an “inferior grade” profession in the eyes of many, the president of the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) told its members.
Writing to more than 3,500 accountants in Malta, Fabio Axisa said allegations of financial crime against some individuals had cast a “heavy shadow” on the whole profession and represented a “dark page” in its history.
The strongly worded letter, seen by
Times of Malta, was sent to members after Nexia BT partners Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Manuel Castagna were charged with money laundering, forgery and other crimes in connection with the business activities of the former prime minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna and three other associates were granted bail on Tuesday by a court hearing criminal charges against them.
Tonna, his fellow Nexia BT partners Karl Cini and Manuel Castagna, and office manager Katrin Bondin Carter face charges of money laundering, forgery and other crimes in relation to inquiries into former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri. They are all pleading not guilty.
The court’s decision to allow them to walk free while proceedings against them continue means that each of the 11 people arrested and charged in the wide-ranging criminal investigation sparked by the Schembri inquiries has now been granted bail.
Lawyers, accountants face tougher rules, higher costs to act as company directors
An army of warranted professionals in Malta are balking at new rules removing their exemption from onerous authorisation by the financial regulator to act as company officers
6 April 2021, 8:04am
by Matthew Vella
An army of warranted professionals in Malta – accountants, auditors, lawyers and notaries – are balking at new rules removing their exemption from onerous authorisation by the financial regulator (MFSA) to act as company officers.
The pressure on Malta to tighten up its corporate governance rules by the Council of Europe’s Moneyval, will mean warranted professionals must be authorised before accepting directorships on companies or providing the services of company secretary.
Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and associates granted bail in money laundering case
Nexia BT partners Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Manuel Castagna, and their employee Katrin Bondin Carter, are granted bail
6 April 2021, 12:32pm
by Matthew Agius
The accused have all pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering.
Tonna and Cini were granted bail against a deposit of €60,000 each and a personal guarantee of €90,000. They cannot go overseas and have to sign the bail book daily at the police station. The other accused were handed down slightly less onerous bail conditions.
When the compilation of evidence against them continued today, the court heard the testimony of a number of police officers involved in the searches and arrests.