De-Risking In Jeopardy 2

Yet again another financial institution finds itself under the spotlight in Antigua & Barbuda.

This time it is the BOI Bank Corporation trading as BOI Bank.

BOI, which was formed in March 1994 and based in Antigua, is promoted as an international bank connected to the global financial services network of Grupo Financiero BOD.

According to the BOD's website, the group consists of a conglomerate of fifteen companies operating in five countries in Latin America in the banking, capital markets, insurance and health sectors.

It is chaired by Venezuelan Víctor Vargas Irausquín, who lives in the lives in the Dominican Republic and who is also believed to be the sole shareholder.

The Group is made up of: BOD Banco Universal (Venezuela), Allbank Corp (Panama), BOI Bank Corporation (Antigua and Barbuda), Banco del Orinoco NV (Curacao) and Bancamérica (Dominican Republic). In the capital market, BOD Securities Casa de Bolsa (Venezuela), Plus Capital Market (Panama), Plus Capital Market (Dominican Republic) and BOD Mutual Funds (Venezuela). In the insurance sector, Seguros La Occidental and in health services, Global Care, Salud Care and Planinsa, all Venezuelan companies. The group also includes Pymefactoring (Venezuela) and National Leasing (Panama).

However, leaving aside Antigua & Barbuda's long history of banking failures, the current reasons BOI in Antigua is attracting attention are because in 2018 customers complained they were unable to access their funds and, more recently, the regulatory investigations that led to the closure of two other banks in the B.O.D Group and regulatory intervention of Banco Occidental de Descuento in Venezuela

The Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten said its decision on 5 September 2019 to implement an "emergency measure" by suspending activities was due to deficiencies at the Bank, which Mr Vargas has claimed to appeal against.

BOD's board later dissolved Banco del Orinoco, though, its assets in Curacao have been frozen for investigation.

Following Curacao's decision, Panama's banking regulator intervened in Allbank Corp, which has its headquarters in Curacao. The Bank was closed down on 10 September 2019 by the Superintendence of Banks of Panama to safeguard the interests of customers.

It is said that the Bank has links to the French and Spanish monarchies. Luis Alfonso de Borbón Martínez Bordiú, who was one of its directors, is the great-grandson of Francisco Franco, the late Spanish dictator and is the...