BNA must approve FCIB payment

August 20, 2008 8:00 AM

Within two weeks, the Central Bank of the Neth.Antilles (BNA) must release the balance of the British V2 Limited, which is blocked on an account of the First Curaçao International Bank (FCIB), who on her turn has one week to transfer the more than 1.3 million British pounds (more than 4.2 million guilders) to V2’s curator in England, so that he can pay the creditor of V2. The judge decided that yesterday in the proceeding that curator Stephen Hunt has instituted against BNA and FCIB.

This is the second time within three months that BNA receives such order from the judge, on penalty of a fine that in this case comprehends a maximum amount of 500.000 guilders. The verdict is provisionally enforceable. The Court decided in May that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had the right on a 1.9 million dollar payment, which was in an FCIB account.

The revenue service of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Revenues & Customs, suspects the English partnership V2 of Missing Trader Intra Community Fraud (MTIC). V2 owes the revenue service more than 51 million pounds (173.5 million guilders) in Value Added Tax. The revenue service has therefore requested to liquidate V2, and the High Court of Justice in London adjudged that in 2006. The biggest asset of V2 (the 1.3 million pounds) is on an FCIB account. Curator Stephen Hunt demanded the release of this amount.

The judge sentenced among others that payment to the curator is not considered a payment to a high-risk group. An auditor won’t be able to say that the moneys come directly from a penal offence, because the suspicion of MTIC-fraud was exactly the reason for the involuntary liquidation of V2, to partly compensate the duped English revenue service.

According to the judge, there is no need for BNA to worry about prosecution by paying the curator, who doesn’t belong to a risk-group. The payment doesn’t appear to be unjustified, considering the liquidation position of FCIB. Thus it won’t be in the way of Hunt’s claim.

There is a huge international criminal investigation going against FCIB, because director John Deuss had acted as banker without a permit from BNA. Many of FCIB’s account holders, mainly from England, have also used the bank to evade taxes, the Missing Trader Intra Community Fraud (MTIC). BNA has therefore blocked the FCIB-accounts for payment to customers from high-risk groups, pending an audit that must proof that the money is not from illegal practice. Because, if that is the case and BNA still approves payments, the Central Bank would also be guilty of a crime.

(Source: National Newspaper Amigoe)

August 19, 2008