Another 45 investors have filed a judicial protest against Bank of Valletta and the directors of one of its funds, claiming its mismanagement led to substantial losses.

It is the third action of its kind to be taken against the bank and against La Valette Multi-Manager Property Fund, a sub-fund of La Valette Sicav plc managed by Valletta Fund Management, a joint venture between BOV and Insight Investment of London.

The 45 investors said they endorsed the previous judicial protests filed by some 250 other investors and an investment company, Finco Treasury Management Limited, that made similar claims of mismanagement.

The latest judicial protest also held Salvino Busuttil, Joseph Demajo, Tonio Depasquale and John Ripard responsible in their personal capacity as directors of Sicav plc.

In their own protest, Finco had said the affected investments included a number in the Belgravia Funds, made at a time when there were sufficient indications that it was inappropriate to entrust the investments with Belgravia.

The 45 investors submitted that the Belgravia funds were not the only ones to be affected but there were six others that had also been mismanaged.

The Belgravia Financial Services Group Ltd was the subject of criminal and regulatory investigations in Britain, they said.

They argued that although the regulations in the offering document had prohibited the directors from investing in funds which had liabilities in excess of their total assets, they went ahead and did so, effectively breaching the rules.

The investors also claimed that the bank had still not provided the requested statistical information in relation to the massive redemption of 14,702,538 units worth €16,200,081, which took place in the months immediately preceding the suspension of the said funds.

Lawyer Ian Refalo signed the protest.