Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/823773
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 MAY 2017 6 News Italian court calls on BOV to answer on €363 million shipping bankruptcy claim MATTHEW VELLA BANK of Valletta will have to respond to a multi-million claim brought against it in an Italian tribunal of Torre Annunziata, a province of Naples. The decision was taken by a supreme court in a case being brought by the liquidator of the shipping company Deiulemar, which is accused of fraud- ulent bankruptcy. According to the Court of Cassa- tion's judgement, Bank of Valletta will have to answer to the €363 million claim brought against it, after liquida- tors of the Deiulemar group and repre- sentatives of 13,000 Italian bondhold- ers from the town of Torre del Greco, filed a civil claim against trusts held by BOV and another company registered at BOV's Valletta address on Zachary Street – Banco Svizzero d'Italia Trust Corporation Limited Malta – whose parent company is the Swiss bank BSI, of Lugano. The decision was hailed by the town's bondholders, who have been campaigning for justice for years. "It is a decision that is a victory for all the creditors, and thanks go to their lawyers who made this possible," a spokesperson for the Torre Annun- ziata investors said. An internal investigation had been launched by Bank of Valletta – details of which are as yet unknown – into what sort of due diligence had been carried out by the bank in offering trust services in connection with the Deiulemar shipping giant of Italy. The bank's investigation was on the level of due diligence carried out when it became a trustee for Trust Capital Trust, Trust Gaino, and Trust Gilda – which are being called on to answer for the €363 million claim. The legal action from the Deiule- mar liquidator was launched back in February 2014, but the bank took over a year to formally announce that a quantifiable claim was first made against BOV. "Immediately we received the noti- fication we took the following steps: we appointed an Italian legal firm to represent us in court in Italy. We also asked them to review thoroughly the documents presented in the Court of Torre Annunziata and the internal documents of the bank on this case. "We also immediately informed our regulators, the MFSA and the Joint Supervisory Team that includes ECB officials. A number of board meetings were held to discuss this case and to hear the advice of our auditors as well as of our legal consultants." The bank has previously said it has a strong legal position and that no pro- vision for the claim was felt necessary. "This advice was sent to our auditors and our regulators, including the ECB. They all agreed with the board's deci- sion to issue a company announce- ment that was published on 2 April, 2015." The €363 million claim is the tip of the iceberg of a story of massive fraud that took place in southern Italy, where over 13,000 bondholders had their savings wiped out. Investors in the Neapolitan province of Torre del Greco have protested the loss of their investments following the €800 million fraudulent bankruptcy of shipping giant Deiulemar. In July 2014, seven members of the three founding families of ship-owner Deiulemar were jailed for up to 17 years for illegal financial transactions as the company collapsed. It was de- clared bankrupt in 2012 owing more than €800 million. They were found guilty of fraudulent bankruptcy, having transferred their assets to Maltese, Swiss, and British Virgin Islands trusts to avoid their exposure to creditors and the 13,000 retail investors from Torre del Greco who subscribed to their bonds. Motorcyclist seriously hurt in Tarxien crash A motorcyclist suffered serious injuries yesterday in a traffic accident at Tarxien. The 69-year-old man from Paola was hurt at around 11:15am in Triq San'Anard, Tarxien when his Peugeot motorcycle was involved in a collision with a Toyota Starlet driven by a 36 year old woman from Fgura. In a statement yesterday evening, the Police said that the motorcyclist was taken to hospital by ambulance, where he was found to have been grievously injured. Police investigations are ongoing, the statement said. Charged with immigration- related offences TWO men have been handed suspended sentences after admitting to immigration-related offences. Alkasem Mohamed Faisal and Mohamad Haj Najib, the latter a Maltese citizen of Syrian origin, were handed 20-month prison sentences, suspended for 48 and 30 months respectively after the men admitted to assisting a person's illegal arrival in Malta. Najib was also accused of receiving a passport belonging to someone else. In addition to the suspended sentence, Najib was ordered to pay a fine of €2,000. He had been intercepted and arrested at the airport on Thursday night after he was found to be carrying Faisal's passport. The man said he had been heading to Greece in order to give Faisal's passport to his brother in order to facilitate his illegal entry into Malta. Inspector Frankie Sammut prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono, Angie Muscat and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel. Three accused of attempted robbery THREE people have been arraigned in court, accused of attempting to steal from slot machines at a St Paul's Bay bar and restaurant. Jeffrey Cassar, 32 from Mosta, Dylan Cardona, 22 from St Paul's Bay and Russian born Siggiewi resident Albina Ryabinina, 19 appeared under arrest before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech yesterday. Inspector Godwin Scerri accused the trio of attempting to rob a commercial establishment in the seaside town, an attempted crime that was aggravated by violence, means, value and time and which had been abandoned for reasons independent of their will. Cassar and Ryabinina were further charged with committing theft, aggravated by value, means and time, after allegedly stealing cash from the Qawra Palace Hotel earlier this month. Ryabinina alone was also accused of aiding and abetting the men in committing aggravated theft. Cassar alone faced an additional charge of recidivism. Lawyer Noel Bianco, defence counsel to the three, informed the court that only Cardona was admitting the charges, whilst Cassar and Ryabinina would be pleading not guilty. Magistrate Frendo Dimech ordered a pre-sentencing report to be drawn up for Cardona, whose punishment will be handed down on Wednesday. He will be remanded in custody till then, as will Cassar and Ryabinina, whose requests for bail were turned down by the court. A Deiulemar asset – but the company has gone bankrupt Deiulemar bondholders at a meeting