Malta financial regulator Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has announced that its CEO, Joseph (Joe) Gavin, is currently “indisposed”. The regulator did not provide a reason.

The MFSA, which oversees a number of FX and CFD brokers, said that its Board of Governors has appointed Chief Officer Enforcement, Dr Michelle Mizzi Buontempo, as Acting CEO in Mr. Gavin’s absence, effective 15 June 2022.

Joe Gavin was named MFSA CEO in September 2021, following a scandal at the MFSA that led to the ouster of the regulator’s previous CEO, Joseph Cuschieri. Mr. Cuschieri resigned in November 2020 after reports surfaced in the country that he and MFSA general counsel Edwina Licari had gone on an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas with Maltese businessman and casino owner Yorgen Fenech in May 2018. Mr. Gavin was General Counsel at the Central Bank of Ireland between 2009 and 2015.

Michelle Mizzi Buontempo was appointed as Chief Officer Enforcement of the MFSA in March 2020,  after five years occupying the position of Head of Conduct Supervision within the MFSA. Michelle has over twenty years of experience in the regulation and supervision of different areas within financial services, including supervision of investment firms and fiduciaries. She represents the MFSA at various Committees of the ESAs.