Author Archives: Editor1

FBME Limited Welcomes Decision from the ICC

25 May 2015

Recent decisions in the arbitration process at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris have been warmly welcomed by the owners of FBME Limited. They have reaffirmed their strong commitment to providing full cooperation to the Arbitral Tribunal and to achieving a solution to the dispute through collaboration with the Respondents.

Continue reading

Sins: Those of Omission and those of Commission

9 May 2015

On 21 July 2014 at 11 o’clock in the evening, the Central Bank of Cyprus announced the imposition of resolution measures on the Cyprus branch of FBME Bank. As we know, Resolution is a preferred route for taking over the affairs of a bank going bankrupt, but it has not been used before for a healthy, liquid bank such as the Cyprus branch of FBME. In turning to this measure, the Central Bank failed to coordinate – or even inform – the supervisors of the head office of FBME Bank, the Bank of Tanzania. From that day to this, the CBC has still failed to link its actions to those of the superior authority in Tanzania or even to pay much attention to the rules and laws of Cyprus and the EU.

Continue reading

Two FBME Administrators paid more than CBC Governor and Mario Draghi – combined

5 May 2015

An interesting factoid has emerged from the details of the appointment of a second Administrator by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) to run the affairs of the Cyprus branch of FBME Bank: the two Administrators are paid more than the combined salaries of the Governor of the CBC and the person she describes as her boss, the ECB President Mario Draghi. You can probably also include the combined salaries of the other members of the CBC Board of Directors and still have change.

Continue reading

No Staff Involvement

3 May 2015

Recent reports have incorrectly stated that FBME staff have approached the Police and the Central Bank of Cyprus to make certain unspecified allegations of breaches of Anti-Money Laundering Law. As far as FBME understands, the persons referred to are in fact individuals connected to British companies that are currently engaged in litigation with FBME regarding disputed invoices and services.

Continue reading

Déjà Vu as Cyprus Parliament Spurned Again

22 April 2015

 A failure of key government officials to attend caused for the third time the Cyprus Parliamentary hearings into what has become known as the ‘FBME affair’ to be cancelled. The hearings have been called by MPs who sit on the Parliamentary Merit Committee which oversees the actions of State officials and civil servants, and the stated aim has been to investigate the actions taken against FBME Bank and its Cyprus branch by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Continue reading

No Administrator, No Transactions, No Reason!

21 April 2015

The Administrator of the Cyprus Branch of FBME, Dinos Christofides, left the Cyprus branch of FBME Bank at 2pm yesterday, Monday 20 April, saying he will not return until Monday next week, 27 April. In time-honoured fashion, he managed not to warn anyone before he walked out, leaving the Bank’s efforts to meet payments to its depositors to grind, once more, to an undignified halt!

Continue reading