BOV continues Deiulemar case defence as ECHR rules application ‘inadmissible’

Bank of Valletta has confirmed that it will continue legal proceedings, after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the bank’s application is “inadmissable”.

In 2019, Bank of Valletta filed proceedings against Italy before the ECHR.

The Bank had complained that Italian law does not provide a remedy for its fair hearing concerns in respect of the claim made against the bank by the curators in the bankruptcy of the Deiulemar Group before the courts of Torre Annunziata, in Italy. 

The Deiulemar Group collapsed amidst controversy, with losses of more than €800 million reported.

Liquidators for the group have linked €363 million to its owners, and have alleged that BOV allowed them to funnel millions into three trusts. 

Seven people have been jailed as a result of the company’s collapse.

The ECHR has decided that the Bank’s application is, at this stage of the proceedings, inadmissible. 

The basis of the ECHR’s decision is that the Bank still has remedies to exhaust in Italy regarding its fair hearing concerns, and not because it considered the Bank’s complaint unmeritorious. 

Bank of Valletta reiterated that the curators’ claim is entirely without any legal or factual basis, “as has been unequivocally confirmed by opinions provided by independent legal experts.” 

It said it will continue to pursue its defence vigorously, including its fair hearing concerns, before the Italian courts.  If those prove unsuccessful, the bank will petition the European Court of Human Rights again, once the Italian remedies have been fully exhausted.