Bank of Valletta (BOV) has said in a statement today that it has been notified of the outcome of the investigation carried out by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA or the Authority) in connection with Redemptions relating to the La Valette Multi Manager Property Fund (the Fund).
BOV said that “allegations have been made in various newspapers and in judicial protests filed by investors in the Fund against the Fund and its service-providers to the effect that BOV Group employees or persons connected with the Bank or with the Fund took advantage of privileged information to dispose of their shares in the Fund prior to the Fund being suspended.”
“Over the past months the MFSA has been carrying out an investigation in respect of these allegations. The Authority’s investigation has been carried out to determine whether there is any evidence of redemptions by persons who had or could have had access to information which was not available to the general body of the Fund’s investors in the months prior to the suspension of the Fund on 8 August 2008,” BOV said.
The MFSA Investigation findings
BOV said that the “The Authority states that it undertook a thorough examination of any information which was identified as being relevant to this investigation, including data on purchases and redemption of shares. The investigation included interviews with relevant BOV officials, the review of minutes of meetings, correspondence and data collected by the Authority from BOV, Valletta Fund Management, Valletta Fund Services and La Valette Funds Sicav p.l.c. Furthermore, the Authority also scrutinised redemptions that took place in 2008, particularly redemptions that took place between April and August 2008, to determine whether any of the redemptions could be deemed to be unusual or out of line with the general pattern of redemptions that took place at the time.”
“The Authority has concluded,” BOV said that, “its investigation did not reveal any evidence to substantiate the claim that BOV staff or persons connected to them used confidential information as a basis for their decision to redeem their shares from the Fund during the months prior to suspension of redemptions that took place on 8 August 2008.”
“Bank of Valletta has long maintained that it did not believe that any members of the Bank of Valletta Group management, staff or their families had traded in La Valette Property Fund units on the basis of having had access to privileged information. The Bank is therefore pleased to note that after a thorough and detailed investigation, the MFSA’s report has arrived at the same conclusion, and that all members of the Bank of Valletta Group management, staff and their families have been fully exonerated in respect of the unsubstantiated allegations that have repeatedly been made by certain third parties over many months,” BOV concluded.