3 December 2014
FBME Bank submitted to FinCEN on 1 December 2014 a comprehensive forensic accounting report made by experts from the international consulting firm E&Y (Ernst & Young). In addition, the Bank has submitted to FinCEN hundreds of pages of documents regarding its anti-money laundering compliance programme and know-your-customer procedures. Submission to FinCEN was made on FBME Bank’s behalf by the international law firm Hogan Lovells.
2 December 2014
The judge at the District Court reserved judgment in the supplementary affidavit of the shareholders of FBME on 1 December, after hearing written and verbal submissions regarding the filing for arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. As is standard practice, she reserved judgment to a later date on this and on the interim application by the shareholders to stop the sale of FBME’s Cyprus assets and prevent measures by the Central Bank’s Administrator to further destroy the Bank’s business.
28 November 2014
Arbitration papers in the case filed at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) by the owners of FBME Limited, the holding company of FBME Bank, reveal that the damages claim against the Republic of Cyprus is currently estimated at half a billion US dollars … “but well may exceed this sum by the time the arbitration is completed”. The ICC is empowered to decide on the final damages claim. A copy of the summary of the arbitration papers is available here.
21 November 2014
Four months of mismanagement have really shown up the incompetence of the Central Bank of Cyprus’s attempts at banking. Whatever is felt about its skill at operating as a banking supervisor, it is evident that it can’t successfully run a bank. What else can you expect when auditors, accountants, economists and entrepreneurs – not a professional banker among them – are in charge?
20 November 2014
Further to our story this morning, it is good to report that significant sums from FBME Bank accounts have arrived at the Central Bank of Cyprus. So, for now, there is no liquidity issue and transactions should be renewed. It is good to bring welcome news to our customers, staff, correspondents, associates and friends.
12 November 2014
The shareholders of FBME Limited have made it clear that they are holding the Central Bank of Cyprus and individuals within the Central Bank personally liable for damage and loss suffered by FBME Bank, its depositors and owners. The persons considered responsible include but are not limited to the Special Administrator appointed by the Central Bank of Cyprus to control the operations of the Cyprus branch of FBME Bank.
12 November 2014
Bad luck for Mr. Christofides to miss out on the exciting journey of launching a new bank in Cyprus now that his former employer, Ancoria Holdings, has been granted a banking license by the Central Bank. It will be recalled that he stepped down from Ancoria on the last day of July 2014 in a resignation letter backdated to 28 July. We presume this was because he recognised the potential for a conflict of interest between his role as Administrator of FBME’s Cyprus branch to which he was appointed on 22 July and his position as ‘project leader’ for Ancoria in its quest for a banking license.
7 November 2014
Credit where credit is due: the Central Bank of Cyprus has granted an extension to the license of FBME Card Services thereby increasing the chances of an eventual resumption of the Company’s business. So, our thanks go to the Central Bank, who responded to Card Services’ application for the extension. The Company remains suspended but while the licenses are still current, there is a chance that once the restrictions are lifted a resumption of business can be made.
It is important that this is done for the good of the market and for the reputation of the authorities.
31 October 2014
The legal fightback in the international arena by the owners of FBME Bank against the hostile and illegal takeover of its Cyprus branch by the Central Bank of Cyprus is underway. The latest act has been the completion of the filing in Paris of the shareholders’ case for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce. Now the Central Bank will have to justify its actions in an international forum.
30 October 2014
There is a belief amongst some people that if you ask the same question often enough you will eventually get the answer you want. Children sometimes do this: “Can I? Can I? Can I?” in the hope that the parent will finally give in. But we don’t really expect this from senior government officials do we?
