Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/585489
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 OctObEr 2015 5 News A ONE NIGHT STAY AT HILTON WITH DINNER AT BLUE ELEPHANT We are nearly at 100,000 LIKES! Like our page and create an online account with www.maltatoday.com.mt to be in a chance to win. Executive lounge facilities include: î3ULYDWHFKHFNLQ FKHFNRXW î%UHDNIDVWLQWKHORXQJH î$IWHUQRRQ7HDZLWKFDNHVDQGSDVWULHV î3UHGLQQHUGULQNVLQFOXGLQJFDQDS«VDQGDOFRKROLF drinks î7HDFRIIHHDQGQRQDOFRKROLFGULQNV available throughout the day 7+(5220 $FFRPPRGDWLRQLQRQHRIRXU&RQWHPSRUDU\([HFXWLYH5RRP including breakfast and Executive Lounge facilities All Invest loses appeal to force bankruptcy MAt thew VellA The director of a bankrupt in- vestment firm has lost an appeal on a Constitutional Court de- cision that threw out his com- plaint that a Malta Financial Services Authority directive to delay the liquidation of his com- pany before it settled all its dues with clients, was in breach of his fundamental human rights. Wallace Falzon, a director of All Invest, is facing claims from several of its customers, which the MFSA quantifies in its counter-claim "could run into the millions". The MFSA's directive in- structed All Invest to delay liq- uidation "until the transfer of clients' holdings is completed in an orderly manner" and until any pending complaints or court proceedings are determined, and until the MFSA was satis- fied that arrangements were in place for a proper safeguard of the company. Falzon claimed the director limited his access to a court of law as guaranteed under the eu- ropean Convention of human Rights. Originally the Constitutional Court had found no breach be- cause Falzon was already ap- pealing the directive before the Financial Services Tribunal. Judge Anthony ellul had said that the MFSA was not acting beyond its power in delaying liquidation, and that bankrupt- cy proceedings before another court were still pending so the MFSA directive had not stalled those proceedings. The MFSA had originally stat- ed that it could not allow the bankruptcy process to interfere with the investigative and regu- latory proceedings concerning All Invest. Former MFSA director-gener- al Andre Camilleri had told the court that as company director, Falzon had to answer for the company's actions. This mean that liquidation had to be de- layed so as to safeguard clients' claims against All Invest. Camilleri had in fact testified in court saying that Falzon was trying to park his assets in a trust held by his wife and chil- dren, to divest himself of the as- sets he accumulated through the company and then start court proceedings to declare the com- pany insolvent. The MFSA suspended All In- vest's investment services li- cence over regulatory breaches in June 2013, following an inves- tigation into the sale of complex investment products to retail investors The MFSA has accused All In- vest of "failing to act in the best interest of investors as required of all firms which provide in- vestment services". The authority added that the company also did not maintain sufficient records to demon- strate compliance with regula- tions and conditions of its in- vestment services licence. All Invest has appealed the MFSA directive. All Invest also faces a civil claim from its former clients, who alleged they were misled investing their life savings in high-risk financial instruments in RBS, Barclays, Lloyds and SNS Bank, resulting in their complete loss. The Mallia family of Attard ac- cused All Invest of selling them high-risk products unsuitable for retail clients, and that the company advised them to cede, at a loss, an insurance policy they themselves had sold, in or- der to reinvest the sum recov- ered using the instruments in question. The plaintiffs also told the court that Wallace Falzon was attempting to divest of his assets to then liquidate his firm, and filed their claim against his wife and children, as well as Patrick Massa, Rosewall Investments Ltd, and FZD Trustees and Fi- duciary Services. The MFSA suspended All Invest's investment services licence over regulatory breaches in June 2013