WILLEMSTAD - According to a "preliminary ruling" of the court in a higher appeal by Giro Bank against former CFO Stephen Capella, the trust he placed in Eric Garcia, former CEO of the bank, does not exculpate him.
The Giro Bank ran into serious problems about eight years ago, to such an extent that it is currently being liquidated.
Another preliminary judgment is that in this specific case against Capella "apparently no verification /" authentication "/ certification has taken place". According to the Court, this results in "serious culpability".
"After all, the KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure, which is considered extremely important today."
Incidentally, the three judges have "reserved any further decision" and referred the case to another date. The parties are given the opportunity to answer a whole series of - sharp - questions from the Court. At first instance, Giro Bank had filed a joint and several order for payment totaling $ 10,260,000 against Capella, Garcia, and the limited company Giro Holdings.
The court had dismissed the claims against Capella and ruled that the proceedings against Garcia and Giro Holdings have been suspended. In the appeal against Capella, Giro Bank has reduced its claim: the bank is now claiming the aforementioned amount of $ 7,260,000, plus the statutory interest from March 2013.