Tonio Depasquale has resigned from director on the boards of La Valette Funds SICAV p.l.c. and Wignacourt Funds SICAV p.l.c., according to the Malta Stock Exchange.

Mr Depasquale retired from CEO of Bank of Valletta last December.

Bank of Valletta said in a statement later in the evening that Mr Depasquale decision was a personal one that followed his retirement from the bank in  December.

Last year the MFSA found BOV in breach of financial regulations in connection with the La Valette's property fund in the first of three investigations.

The bank and subsidiary company Valletta Fund Management Ltd were fined a total of €347,816 for regulatory breaches.

in January, one of the fund’s directors, John Ripard, resigned after the authority reprimanded him – following a second probe – for selling his holdings in the fund before the bank decided to suspend trading, leaving many investors high and dry.

The MFSA concluded that Mr Ripard sold his shares while in possession of sensitive information that was not available to the public and that he became privy to in his capacity as a director.

On Wednesday, the Labour Party said that almost a year after the MFSA published its first verdict on Bank of Valletta’s property fund fiasco, it was yet to publish its findings into allegations that investors were wrongly sold shares in the fund.

BOV STATEMENT

In its statement BOV deplored the implications it said were being made in the media linking Mr Depasquale's resignation to the La Valette Multi Manager Property Fund, the investigations made by the MFSA, and the resignation of John C. Ripard as director of the two SICAV boards in January.

"The decision of Tonio Depasquale to resign from the boards of the two SICAVs was a personal decision that followed his retirement from Bank of Valletta last December bringing to a close a career of over 40 years of distinguished service, the last eight of which he served as the bank’s CEO.

"The bank reiterates that the MFSA investigation, published at the time when Mr Depasquale was still serving as its CEO, fully exonerated all BOV officials from any accusations of taking advantage of privileged information."

BOV said Mr Depasquale will continue to serve as a director on the boards of Valletta Fund Management Ltd., and Valletta Fund Services Ltd., subsidiaries of the BOV Group as well as on the board of Middle Sea Insurance p.l.c., an associate company of the BOV Group.

 

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