Licensing

The PVARA Chairperson: Appointment, Powers and Removal

Section 11 sets the PVARA Chairperson's qualifications, term limits and removal standard. Here is exactly what the Act requires, quoted directly from the text.

Malik Abbas · · 7 min read

Of the eight seats on PVARA’s board, one is built differently from the rest. The Chairperson is not an ex-officio member sitting because of another government post, and is not one of the two independent directors appointed for sector expertise alone. The Chairperson is appointed specifically to lead the Authority, presides over its meetings, and is the only board seat the Act gives its own dedicated section on qualification, tenure and removal.

Section 11 of the Virtual Assets Act, 2026 covers all of this in four short subsections. Read alongside the definition in section 3(1)(iv) and the board composition rules in section 7, it gives a complete picture of who can become Chairperson, how long they can serve, and on what grounds they can be removed before their term ends.

What does the Act mean by “Chairperson”?

Section 3(1)(iv) defines the term narrowly: “‘Chairperson’ means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under this Act.” This is a formal, self-referential definition — it does not describe the role’s functions, only confirms that wherever the Act uses the word “Chairperson,” it means the specific office created and filled under the Act’s own appointment provisions, principally section 11. Section 7(1)(a) separately confirms the Chairperson occupies the first of the Authority’s eight board seats, “to be appointed by the Federal Government.”

Who appoints the Chairperson, and what qualifications are required?

The Federal Government makes the appointment, and the Act sets two minimum qualification requirements. Section 11(1) states: “the Chairperson of the Authority shall be appointed by the Federal Government on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit. The Chairperson shall have demonstrable expertise in digital finance or technology and a minimum of three years’ relevant professional experience, and shall be eligible for re-appointment for maximum two terms on such term or terms as the Federal Government may determine.”

Breaking that down, three things follow directly from the text:

  • Appointing authority: the Federal Government, not the Authority’s own board and not any other regulator.
  • Minimum qualification: demonstrable expertise in digital finance or technology, combined with at least three years of relevant professional experience. The Act does not itself define “demonstrable expertise” or specify what counts as “relevant” experience in more detail — that assessment sits with the Federal Government at the point of appointment.
  • Terms and conditions: left to the Federal Government’s discretion (“on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit”), rather than fixed in the statute itself.

How many terms can a Chairperson serve?

Up to three terms in total — the original appointment plus two further terms — though the Act leaves the length of each term to the Federal Government. Section 11(1) makes the Chairperson “eligible for re-appointment for maximum two terms on such term or terms as the Federal Government may determine.” This is worth reading precisely: the Act caps the number of re-appointments at two, but does not itself fix each term at a set number of years the way section 7(2) does for the ordinary board members. The actual duration of the Chairperson’s term or terms is a matter the Federal Government determines at the time of appointment.

This differs from the position for the Authority’s other non-ex-officio members. Section 7(2) fixes ordinary member terms at three years, renewable once. Section 11 gives the Chairperson up to three appointments in total, with the length of each left open — a structure worth keeping distinct when advising on continuity of leadership at the regulator.

What is the Chairperson actually responsible for?

Section 11(2) states the role in a single sentence: “the Chairperson shall provide overall guidance, direction, and oversight of the Authority.” Read alongside section 8(3), which makes the Chairperson the person who presides over board meetings (or nominates a member to preside in their absence), the role combines day-to-day strategic leadership of PVARA with formal chairing authority over the board’s own decision-making process described in how the board decides.

The Act does not give the Chairperson a personal veto over board decisions — section 8(4) states that all decisions in a meeting are made by majority of the members present, which necessarily includes the Chairperson’s own vote as one among several, not a deciding vote reserved to that office alone. The Chairperson’s authority under section 11(2) is one of guidance and oversight of the institution, not a formal power to override the board.

On what grounds can a Chairperson be removed before their term ends?

Only for gross misconduct or incapacity, and only after a fair process. Section 11(3) states: “the Chairperson shall only be removed prior to the expiry of the term for gross misconduct or incapacity following a show cause notice and opportunity to be heard.” This sets a deliberately high bar, and a defined procedure:

  1. The ground for removal must be gross misconduct or incapacity — not ordinary policy disagreement, underperformance short of misconduct, or a change in government.
  2. A show cause notice must be issued, giving the Chairperson formal notice of the allegation.
  3. The Chairperson must be given an opportunity to be heard before any removal decision is finalised.

This procedural protection mirrors the general standard the Act applies elsewhere to its own licensees — section 23, for example, requires written notice and an opportunity to be heard before PVARA can vary, suspend or revoke a licence. The Act applies a broadly comparable due-process standard to removing its own Chairperson, rather than leaving that removal to unrestricted Federal Government discretion.

The Act does not define “gross misconduct” or “incapacity” further in the text reviewed for this piece, and does not specify who determines whether the standard has been met, what body hears the Chairperson’s response, or what happens if the Chairperson disputes the outcome. Those are open questions the statute leaves for Regulations or established administrative-law practice, not something section 11(3) resolves on its own.

Can the Chairperson resign voluntarily?

Yes, and the Act specifies exactly how. Section 11(4) states: “the Chairperson may resign by writing to the Prime Minister.” This is notably direct — the resignation route runs straight to the Prime Minister rather than through the Authority’s board or the Division concerned that otherwise receives PVARA’s annual reports under section 72. It confirms that, while the Chairperson answers to the Federal Government for appointment and removal, the office is treated as accountable at the head-of-government level rather than through an intermediate ministry for the specific act of resignation.

What should this mean for anyone assessing PVARA’s leadership stability?

Two things follow directly from section 11, without speculation beyond the text:

  • Removal is deliberately hard. The gross-misconduct-or-incapacity standard, combined with the show cause and hearing requirement, means a Chairperson cannot be removed simply because a new government prefers a different appointee — the statute requires cause and process, not just political discretion.
  • Continuity has a defined ceiling. With a maximum of three total terms (the original appointment plus two re-appointments) but no fixed term length written into section 11 itself, an applicant tracking regulatory continuity should watch the Federal Government’s actual appointment notices for how long each term runs, rather than assuming a fixed three-year cycle carried over from the ordinary board-member rule in section 7(2).

About this analysis

This analysis was prepared by the CoinConnect research desk from the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, the PVARA No Objection Certificate Regulations 2025, and the PVARA Sandbox Guidelines 2026, read as published. Where practice is not yet settled or guidance has not been issued, that is stated in the text above.

Regulatory positions change and specific requirements should be verified against the current position published by the relevant authority before you act on them. This is information and analysis, not legal advice, and it does not create an advisory relationship. Take professional advice on your own circumstances.

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