Christopher Vella
Head - Data Management & Analytics
Christopher Vella leads FIAU’s Data Management and Analytics function which involves the administration of the Centralised Bank Account Register (CBAR) as well as the analysis of data across different domains to derive statistics and assess ML/TF risks. Having joined the agency in 2020 just before Malta was placed under increased monitoring by the FATF, Christopher was part of the team responsible for implementing the action plan and reporting progress to the FATF. This eventually led to the greenlight by the same FATF within a year. As an accredited FATF evaluator, Christopher has also been involved in other jurisdictions’ MONEYVAL evaluation process as reviewer or rapporteur.
Prior to this, he worked with one of the big four consultancy firms where he acquired deep domain expertise in AML/CTF compliance while advising and co-leading projects for banks in Malta and the UK. Throughout these engagements, Christopher helped clients derive timely management information, report to regulators, and understand customers’ transactions through the application of data analytics solutions.
Christopher is a Banking and Finance graduate from the University of Malta qualified in AML (ICA International Diploma), database development (MCSA in SQL) and data analytics.
