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Demands in cascades by clients of BPA

16/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

The way in which the entity was intervened, was not clear nor legal, even less when considering that suspected are only 3 percent of the clients out of 29 thousand. In an exemplary action, more than 200 people affected by the blocking of their accounts by Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), have joined in a large […]

Bank officials and directors, under scrutiny for fraud of BPA

05/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

“The ideal case has taken large-scale political dyes and has involved and put influential officials of the Andorran government in the showcase of the international scandal” The reprehensible fraud orchestrated by senior executives of the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), has taken large-scale political dyes and has involved and put influential officials of the Andorran […]

Demands in cascades by clients of BPA

16/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

Bank officials and directors, under scrutiny for fraud of BPA

05/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

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Demands in cascades by clients of BPA

16/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

The way in which the entity was intervened, was not clear nor legal, even less when considering that suspected are only 3 percent of the clients out of 29 thousand.

In an exemplary action, more than 200 people affected by the blocking of their accounts by Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), have joined in a large platform to take legal action against the Andorran Government, headed by Antoni Martí.

Advised by the law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo, the affected clients are demanding compensation for actions qualifying as unfair and harming of their interests when being conditioned to withdrawing only 2 thousand 500 euros a week for over a year.

The intervention, which at all times was unjustified, has given a valid reason to the initiation of an unprecedented judicial process, where lawyers have made it clear to the international press that they will pursue the case with the justice of Andorra until the end. So that those affected can recover the full amount in their deposits, which now totals 366 million euros frozen by BPA and Banco Madrid.

The equity claim is based on the fact that the way in which the entity was intervened, was not clear nor legal, even less when considering only 3 percent of the clients were suspected out of a total of 29 thousand.

After such a long time, the patience of the clients has overflowed, when having been faced only with false promises by the Andorran government and by the deceit and chicanery of the managers of the BPA, who have gained the distrust of many investors due to their zero transparency in the administration of the bank.

It makes no sense that following the withdrawal of the alarm by FINCEN – the agency that is in charge of controlling the international money laundering of the US Treasury -, the Andorran Government keeps blocking the accounts and claims an alleged “money laundering” to justify the theft of money from thousands of clients who have been irresponsibly criminalised.

It is the largest class action lawsuit to date against the Andorran Government – a new headache for Antoni Martí -, to claim consequential damages, where the process is open to join for all those affected, not only from Europe but also of all nationalities.

After acting “so precipitously and blindly “, the managers of the BPA have sought to avoid at all times the responsibility of having been part of an unjustifiable intervention to the detriment of their clients.

The demand for administrative responsibility against the Government of the Principality also includes the Andorran National Institute of Finance (INAF), the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIFAND) and the State Agency for Resolution of Banking Institutions (AREB).

The bank never protected the interests of the clients, nor their banking secrecy, already from the beginning, and now by the wrong doings of the public administrations, in this case the Andorran ones, have not guaranteed their legal rights either.

The general feeling of the affected is that both Andorra and Spain over-reacted just to please the United States. In other words, the leaking of the report by SEPBLAC (Service for Prevention of Money Laundering) was decisive to sink BPA and Banco Madrid.

Bank officials and directors, under scrutiny for fraud of BPA

05/05/2016/in Andorra, BPA & VALLBANC /by BankAdmin

“The ideal case has taken large-scale political dyes and has involved and put influential officials of the Andorran government in the showcase of the international scandal”

The reprehensible fraud orchestrated by senior executives of the Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), has taken large-scale political dyes and has involved and put influential officials of the Andorran government, such as the Minister of Finance, Jordi Cinca and the bank manager of the international department of BPA, Alexandre Saura Alonso, into the showcase of the international scandal.

Just a few hours ago, David Rivers, the general secretary of the Social Democratic Party (PS), has demanded the immediate resignation of Jordi Cinca, for his alleged involvement in the embarrassing case of the “Panama Papers” after having recognized that he had an offshore company in that Central American country between the years 1999 and 2000. This has severely damaged the image of Andorra.

In the case of the frozen 29 thousand accounts, the bank officials Alexandre Saura and Fernando Vázquez de Lapuerta, have climbed a mountain of manure by refusing to give information to the clients who want and have demanded to know what happened with their funds, and what will be their final destination. In addition, by closing the doors and the possibilities for the clients to recover their savings, even though they have provided supporting documentation proving the legitimacy and the origin of their funds.

Unfortunately, the affected customers and that have not committed any crime, not only have their accounts frozen, but also been violated of their privacy in a criminal manner.

What is serious after the scandal of the intervention of BPA and after a year of keeping in suspense thousands of clients, is that a flight of investors has started, that is sinking Andorra as an international financial centre. The Government of the Principality is facing a serious credibility problem, since it has not been able to verify the existence of irregularities that would justify the intervention of BPA.

The negligence, omissions and actions of the BPA administration, as well as by the Andorran Government and AREB, has been devastating, generated enormous damage, and placed the financial sector of Andorra at the edge of the abyss.

Even AREB has recognized that they are investigating possible criminal indications in the actions of the general managers and administrators of BPA, amongst which are the main shareholders and executives such as César Goyache, Lluís Marimon and Christian Merle.

After having resigned as general manager of BPA, David Betbese (who years ago, held the position of director of the International Private Banking of the financial group Credit Andorra), is now a member of the Board of Directors of VallBanc, the newly constituted “good bank” to which the assets and liabilities of BPA are being transferred.

This past month of March, was the first anniversary of the intervention of BPA, for which the Minister of Finance, Jordi Cinca, postponed the transfer of assets and staff to Vall Banc, for the umpteenth time. However, Vall Banc will inevitably be auctioned out once the assets have been transferred.