The pressure on the BPA, Vall Banc and AREB plot continues to grow

After that the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela closed the case against the former deputy minister of the Electrical Development, Nervis Villalobos, who was allegedly accused of money laundering (which is considered one of the main reasons for the liquidation of Banco Madrid). Along with the recent release of the former general manager of Banco Privada d’Andorra (BPA) Joan Pau Miquel, the past 16^th of January, after 22 months of preventive detention. One after one, charges are being dropped on the Spanish Government in the “BPA Case”, because it has always lacked the fundamentals. In addition, the theory is strengthened that everything was a conspiracy, carried out through a network of complicity.

In the face of these blunders by both the Andorran authorities and the government of Antonio Martí, the collective affected BPA clients law firm – Plataforma d’Afectats BPA, has deployed ‘heavy artillery’ to fight back the Banco Privada d’Andorra (BPA), Vall Banc and the Andorran management. Several law firms are already working on mass claims to demand the return of funds that are still “frozen”, as well as the corresponding compensation for damages and responsibility. The irresponsible attitude of Vall Banc is very clear, when they do not allow their clients to access the funds earlier deposited with BPA, with consent by the Government of Andorra. A triad that has been harmful to the Spanish financial sector and that sets a bad precedent in the history of the Banking world.

It is not a coincidence that just back in January, Andorra and Spain started exchanging information on bank accounts, and that the tax authorities will begin to check the banking data of the thousands of clients with savings in Andorra.

Certain is that the regularization of accounts should have been made before December 31 of last year, since from now on the affected clients may be sanctioned by the tax authorities if they do not prove the source of funds. The nightmare that started two years ago seems endless, since much of the requested data was already in the possession of the BPA itself, and in general resulting to be very difficult to find someone to analyze the situation point by point.

The trading in force on January 1 of the automatic exchange of information treaty signed with the Spanish Government, has caused a real chaos to thousands of Spaniards who have accounts in the old BPA, and which remain blocked by the local administration. To date, it is more than 2 thousand 500 people – most of them Spanish – of whom the Andorran justice still has suspicions, which the auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have not been able to prove in one single account.

Even with the entire gale that is looming, the Andorran management remains committed to prevent these accounts from being transferred to Vall Banc, which was the entity that perceived the healthy assets of BPA. The Plataforma d’afectats BPA, through its spokesperson Gema Martínez, has reported there are many clients who, while trying to catch up with the Spanish tax authorities, could not do so because they had no liquidity to pay the regularization before December 31. This has forced many customers who have savings in Andorra to donate from their accounts to foundations, NGO’s or family members.

Moreover, in a totally advantageous move, the vulture fund J.C. Flowers, owner of Vall Banc, takes advantage of the situation to do business, by providing funding to all those people who need money to settle accounts with the “justice”.

The situation is quite complex. The transfer of accounts cannot be made directly because it is the bank that acts as legal responsible in the purchase of bonds and securities, and then makes the internal distribution amongst its clients.

The wait becomes maddening, since while AREB has allowed the transfer of most of the accounts, Vall Banc has chosen not to attend the nearly three thousand clients and dismiss the problematic, to the extent of ignoring the letters and calls of thousands of affected clients. In addition, the Andorran management has yet not been able to give a specific date; it seems as if it does not have the slightest intention to clarify the situation.

Although many affected clients have already proven the legitimate origin of their funds, the Andorran Government insists on preventing transfers to the entity that assumed the assets of BPA. In such extend that its intervention to guarantee the continuity of the operation of the entity; to protect its clients and to ensure the good name and integrity of the Andorran financial market, resulted in a total farce.

From the beginning, the case lacked procedural fundament having been based solely on the information published by a Spanish newspaper, that later admitted to the information being wrong and removed it from its media.