The Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) said that Apex Fund Services (Malta) Ltd, Luxembourg Branch provided “supporting documentation or other information that proved to be partially incomplete, incorrect or false”. It also cited the outfit for “failing to act in response to a certain number of observations raised by the CSSF” in its injunction letter.

Apex is a specialised financial services provider (PSF) which provides fund administration, fund accounting and shareholder services. It is part of a global group that, according to its website, “has over 3,000 staff based in 24 jurisdictions globally and administers circa $650bn in assets.”

The Luxemburg regulator said that Apex “has committed to implement” changes which it considers “to be concrete measures to address the identified deficiencies.”

A spokeswoman for Apex Group told Delano in a statement:

“We confirm that Apex Fund Services (Malta) Ltd, Luxembourg Branch (“Apex”), has received and settled an administrative sanction imposed by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the “Commission”) in Luxembourg related to certain internal governance issues originally identified by the Commission in 2016. In response, Apex has taken comprehensive remedial steps which ensure that Apex continues to apply the highest standards of practice in all aspects of its business.”

The CSSF issued the administrative sanction on 21 October 2019 and disclosed the €100,000 penalty on 4 February 2020.