Malta: Shareholders

When a company pays an interim dividend but later discovers it lacked sufficient distributable profits, can those payments be recovered from shareholders? This analysis examines the unique legal position of interim dividends under Maltese company law, exploring the circumstances under which clawback becomes possible and the critical distinction between lawful distributions affected by subsequent misfortune and unlawful payments that should never have been made.

This article is part of a series exploring court actions available under the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta).

Legal Notice 91 of 2026 introduced a dedicated legal framework governing the incorporation and operation of sports clubs through a private limited liability company structure, known as a Sports Private...

For public interest companies with more than 500 employees ("Wave 1 companies"), 2025 marks the first reporting year under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD").

Malta's company tax system has long been based on a full imputation system. Under this system, a Maltese company pays tax (at the standard 35% rate) on its profits, and any tax paid is "imputed" to shareholders...

Through Legal Notice 188 of 2025, published on 2 September 2025, the Minister responsible for finance introduced the Final Income Tax Without Imputation Regulations...

The legal framework governing Maltese companies is mainly laid out in the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta).

While shareholders are the primary stakeholders of a company, they do not manage its day-to-day operations which is left to the directors.

Security buybacks are becoming increasingly popular by issuers of both equity and debt securities. Internationally, S&P 500 companies share buybacks amounted to nearly $1 trillion in 2024...