A key witness in the Dalligate affair has been fined €53,000 by the Malta Financial Services Authority and told to cease providing Company Services Provider (CSP) services.

In a notice issued on its website, the financial services watchdog said it had decided to proceed with imposing an administrative penalty €53,333 against Iosif Galea.

It said Galea had been found in breach of the CSP Act “in view of the performance of unauthorised business activity and the failure to provide the requested information to the Authority.”

Moreover, the authority decided to direct Galea “to cease the provision of any services which require prior authorisation or registration from the MFSA, including the provision of CSP services as defined under the applicable law.”

Iosif Galea had appeared as a witness in the case against Silvio Zammit, who had been an aide of former European Commissioner John Dalli.

He is accused of requesting a €60 million bribe to get an EU ban on snus – a type of smokeless tobacco – overturned. The scandal had forced Dalli’s resignation, although the latter insists he was never aware of the bribery attempt.

The EU’s anti-fraud agency, OLAF, had said Dalli was aware that his name was being used by Zammit.

There is no indication that the MFSA fine is related in any way to the Dalligate scandal.