Indolent the Andorran Bank

“Nearly 3 thousand clients of the extinct BPA, are victims of neglect and contempt”

Tears, despair and helplessness, are the feelings that thousands of clients have suffered since the intervention of the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) in 2015. Although unbelievably no judicial procedure has been opened yet, the case of a client to whom the justice has given him the reason to return his funds invested, considering that he was not informed of the complexity of the product, opens the door to others affected, so they can take legal action against the “good” bank Vall Banc, where the migrations of “good” accounts have been effected.

There are many surprising cases of clients, with most of their assets in the new Andorran bankin the form of variable income, but they cannot sell or touch because they remain blocked. Therefore, they insist on claiming the old dome of the banking entity the refund of the money that was already shown by the United States Government that are legal, as well as the corresponding to the damages caused.

Attorney Gema Martínez believes that the retail clients of the intervened bank that acquired preferred shares may now take legal action. It also transpired that there is a judgment in a Spanish court ordering that the funds be returned to another customer who bought shares of Banco Popular without being fully aware of the financial reality of that entity that falsified the accounts.

The gesture of abandonment and disparagement against some three thousand trapped clients, who in 80 percent are of Spanish nationality, according to the data of the affected platform, has left the reputation of the now questioned bank, who never cared in no way whatsoever. Because of its fiduciary nature, it has a preponderant duty with its depositors and creditors who entrusted their savings.

By prescribing the Executive’s responsibility, clients could no longer demand anything from the Government, which is why they complain to former BPA managers in a desperate attempt to recover their money. To date, the managers of the Andorran bank Vall Banc (headed by CEO Christopher Lieber), which is currently the sole shareholder appointed by AREB through a ‘doubtful’ agreement with the JC Flowers vulture fund, negligently refuses to unblock the dollar accounts and in variable income of customers from BPA. On the contrary, they maintain an illegal behavior by limiting the withdrawal to customers at 2,500 Euros per week.

For the lawyers, the culprits of the collapse of the BPA and, consequently, of the losses caused to the investors and small shareholders, is the government that presides by the devaluated Antoni Martí, who with his liquidating intervention and excessive action, cut the foundations of a bank that had passed all the efficiency and profitability controls of the country’s banking controllers.

The BPA scandal subjected Andorra’s financial system to international scrutiny, due to its opaque fiscal structure, which accelerated the process for its financial entities to be fiscally compatible with those of the European Union. Although the authorities do not quantify it, thousands of clients have left the financial center due to this process of legislative change, causing a decrease in banking activity, which was a cost acceptable to the Government. While the automatic exchange of tax information, which became effective in the middle of this year, continue to have negative effects on companies in the sector.

Now the trampled reputation of the financial center has been losing trust and become a threat to the great fortunes and customers with high assets that were attracted by the financial shelter that supposed the protection of bank secrecy, and that ultimately passed the audit that PwC undertook to decree which accounts were suspicious of money laundering and which were not.