| Abstract [eng] |
This master’s thesis examines the institute of licence revocation applicable to electronic money institutions operating in Lithuania in the context of European Union legal regulation, supervisory practice, and the evolving framework of financial regulation. The aim of the research is to determine whether the criteria for licence revocation applied in Lithuania and the related supervisory practice ensure a sufficient degree of legal certainty for market participants. The research is based on the methods of systematic analysis, linguistic analysis, comparative analysis, analysis of law application practice, as well as teleological and historical methods. The study demonstrated that licence revocation constitutes an exceptional measure in the supervisory framework of electronic money institutions; however, the legal grounds for its application are not equally precise. Some are based on objectively ascertainable circumstances and leave narrower room for supervisory assessment, while others, particularly those related to non-compliance with authorisation requirements and threats to the stability of the payment system, imply significant discretion. It was established that this discretion is limited by the principle of proportionality and by procedural safeguards, in particular the right to be heard, the obligation to state reasons, and the right to an effective remedy. The analysis of the practice of the Bank of Lithuania revealed that licence revocation is usually determined not by an isolated infringement, but by a combination of violations related to operational deficiencies, governance shortcomings, AML/CTF failures, and breaches concerning the safeguarding of clients’ funds. The comparative analysis showed that the problem of supervisory discretion is not unique to Lithuania. However, the practice of other Member States demonstrates that greater transparency may be achieved through the public formalisation of criteria for selecting supervisory measures. The thesis concludes that the criteria for revoking the licences of electronic money institutions operating in Lithuania and their practical application do not establish a sufficiently clear and foreseeable threshold for when the most severe supervisory measure must be imposed and therefore do not ensure a sufficient level of legal certainty for market participants. |
