Joe Bannister was appointed director of two funds in the Cayman Islands after he became chairman of the MFSA, publicly available information shows.
Prof. Bannister told the French newspaper Le Monde during a recent interview that he was already a director of the Cayman funds before he joined the MFSA in 1999.
However, publicly available information on an investment website shows Prof. Bannister was appointed director of the Cayman-based Kairos Fund Ltd in 2005.
He was also appointed director of SR Global Fund Inc after he took up the role of MFSA chairman, according to the same investment website.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo last year said Prof. Bannister had funds in SR Global Fund Inc with Sloane Robinson, who in 2015 raised £9 million for the UK Conservative Party.
Mr Bartolo had questioned in Parliament whether it made sense for the Maltese financial regulator to be involved in such activities abroad, more so when Mr Robinson had to refund £2 million after being found to have evaded tax.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat leapt to Prof. Bannister’s defence following revelations in the Paradise Papers showing the MFSA chairman was linked to a Russian mining venture suspected of siphoning off public funds.
Leaked data showed how Prof. Bannister was mentioned as being part of “management” in a company based in the British Virgin Islands, which invested in the mining venture.
Dr Muscat played down concerns in Parliament, saying that Prof. Bannister had publicly explained his position.
Prof. Bannister had indicated to Le Monde that he took up the non-executive directorship in the BVI company before he became MFSA chairman in 1999.
Documents obtained from the BVI company registry show this was impossible, as the company was only incorporated in 2007.
Answering questions by former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil about the MFSA chairman’s involvement in the BVI company, Dr Muscat retorted that Prof. Bannister had headed the MFSA for 18 years, under various Nationalist governments.
Dr Muscat said Prof. Bannister had “spoken” to former prime ministers Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi, and nothing emerged which would have impacted his role in the MFSA.
Dr Muscat had said in May that Prof. Bannister would start the process of resigning from the MFSA at the end of the year.