The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) on Tuesday morning announced the appointment of Michael Spiteri Bailey as Controller of Nemea Bank, namely to “wind up and liquidate the controlled asset”.
His appointment comes into effect as of Tuesday (today), while PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC), appointed as the Competent Person in April 2016, will have its appointment terminated as of today.
The now-defunct bank, which operated as an exclusively online service, had its licence withdrawn after serious regulatory concerns were flagged in 2017. Its liquidation has dragged on, however, pending appeals by the bank’s owners against the decision to shutter the bank.
In January 2021, Malta’s financial services tribunal accepted a request by Nemea Bank’s directors to be granted access to Nemea’s records, documents and IT systems.
Just last month, Nemea Bank filed a lawsuit against its majority shareholder for defaulting on a €1.5 million loan taken out in February 2016.
This loan was taken out just two months before PwC had been appointed as an external competent person to oversee the running of the bank.
They will be identifying and pursuing investment opportunities for luxury hotels and real estate across the Americas and beyond
All vehemently denied accusations describing them as ‘baseless and unsubstantiated’
The ruling also turned down the request to declare that the State Advocate had a duty to act