The Malta Independent on Sunday
IoD Malta launches November event with Professor Robby Houben – author of EP’s cryptocurrencies and blockchain report
The Institute of Directors Malta (IoD) will be holding an afternoon event at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) entitled “Crypto-currencies and blockchain: Implications for financial crime, money laundering and tax evasion“. The event will feature keynote speaker, Professor Robby Houben, chair of company and financial law at the University of Antwerp, who authored the European Parliament’s report on ‘Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain’ for the TAX3 Committee.
Professor Robby Houben specialises in company and financial law. Since 2017, he has been the chair of company and financial law at the University of Antwerp and became a counsel at Baker McKenzie. Robby Houben teaches abroad regularly, including at Toulouse 1 Capitole in France, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain and at Uppsala Universitet in Sweden. He acted as independent expert for the Panama Inquiry Committee of the European Parliament. In that capacity, he authored the study “The mandate of the Panama Inquiry Committee. An Assessment”. In January 2018, Robby Houben joined the academic board of the European Banking Institute, a leading international academic institute on banking regulation located in Frankfurt.
Other speakers include Jamy Nigri, CEO, BDXAlliance and Dr Christopher P. Buttigieg, Head Securities and Markets Supervision, MFSA. The event, which runs from 3pm to 6pm on Thursday, 22 November, will be moderated by IoD Chairman Edwin Ward.
Having founded five companies with four exits on three continents, Jamy Nigri sees the enormous potential blockchain provides to ‘reimagine’ business. With an eye on the future consumer, Nigri wants to solve the problems of everyday usage for the everyday person. The BDXAlliance uses blockchain to connect businesses and consumers.
Nigri believes that: “Blockchain continues to revolutionise Fintech and traditional asset classes to include everything from tokenised hedge funds to fractional real estate. Blockchain is proving to be a game changer for any company that wishes to broaden their base of investors globally with exciting new opportunities. In this session you can hear about real- world examples of real companies, with real customers, and impressive revenue, which are using blockchain to reimagine business.”
A key issue to be addressed during the IoD event is the anonymity surrounding cryptocurrencies. This anonymity, varying from complete anonymity to pseudoanonymity, prevents cryptocurrency transactions from being adequately monitored, allowing shady transactions to occur outside the regulatory perimeter and criminal organisations to use cryptocurrencies to obtain easy access to “clean cash”. Anonymity is also the major issue when it comes to tax evasion. When a tax authority does not know who enters into the taxable transaction because of the anonymity involved, it cannot detect nor sanction this tax evasion.
IoD Chairman Edwin Ward said: “With Malta being positioned as ‘Blockchain Island’, it is vital that fora such as these run in parallel with the growth of the sector. We anticipate that the audience will be composed of legal practitioners, accounting professionals, corporate service providers, academics and some highlevel industry representatives, all of whom are charged with the responsibility for managing Malta’s reputation in this high-growth sector.” For further information please contact IoD Honorary Secretary James A. Arrigo FinstD on (+356) 21 247 400 Ext 1 or send an email to jamesarrigo@marinamilling.com