by Jonathan Cardona, CEO of Malta Individual Investor Programme
First of all I thank all those who attended the conference on due diligence for CBI we held last week. It is very encouraging to see that the industry players do take the field of due diligence seriously.
The idea of holding such a conference started over a year ago. We wanted to bring experienced professionals together to share their knowledge and expertise. This is a field which is very dynamic and evolves continuously.  We have experienced this first hand, and we ourselves had to adapt to new legislation, directives, and technological developments. The environment itself and the landscape have changed as has what is expected from us.
This is an industry which carries its own element of inherent risk. It has been our approach to acknowledge this and implement the appropriate levels of mechanisms to mitigate these risks. It is an industry where it is vital that sift the good apples from the bad ones.
Today the Malta programme is widely recognised as the leading one in the world. This was attained through the hard work and support of many individuals, including our own employees and partners. We have an open mind, and continuously question and challenge ourselves to implement the necessary changes.
That today’s world is a complex one is a given. Our clients, being who they are, with their success, their industries, jurisdictions, level of wealth and global foot print just make it that little more complex. New sources of wealth, such as crypto currencies, new technologies and emerging industries in different spheres are also other factors which we need to take into account. All this in a world which from one hand demands more clarity on source of wealth and transparency over all, and on the other hand more privacy and data protection. Moreover we have cultural situation which we need to take into account.
Having said that we have to take swift informed decisions in an efficient way. We have experienced some rough days form which we have also learned.
In Citizenship by Investment we are doing one transaction for life, which rights are inherited. And with citizenship, individuals are acquiring the right of entry into other countries territories. This entails that apart from our own interest, we have to keep in mind and at heart the interest of our partner countries as well.
This is why we believe that the Malta approach is different. Superior. Because our approach is not based simply on a transaction and transfer of funds. It is a holistic approach taking into consideration various angles and interests to deliver a win win win situation. A win for the rightful applicants, a win for our country, and possibly a win for our partner countries as well.
Unfortunately this has not yet truly translated in mainstream media. Quite the contrary I must say, as many times we find ourselves replying to misinformation. And we do shoulder the responsibility that more needs to be done from our side so that global institutions have e better and deeper understanding of what truly goes in the background of our programme. What are the different levels of checks and balances that have been implemented to ensure a solid, transparent and audited process, and that no abuses take place. We are not flawless, but the whole team does its all to attain the highest professional levels possible. This has not go unnoticed as we are continuously contacted by other governments and units to share our knowledge in this particular field.
We have also developed an internal risk and compliance matrix which I believe is a first in the industry. What we wanted to achieve with this was a framework where every application is treated similarly, and ensure that all relevant elements are examined by our team in a structured approach.
We are also planning to launch a platform for KYC on blockchain technology in the near future.
Source:Â https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/due-diligence-cbi-conference-jonathan-cardona/
