In June 2012, the Malta Financial Services Authority (‘the Authority’) announced that it had concluded its third investigation concerning the La Valette Multi Manager Property Fund (‘the Fund’). In addition, the announcement gave details of the Directive requiring Bank of Valletta (“the Bank”) to cooperate with a review of all investor files by an independent professional services firm, to be engaged by the Authority at the expense of the Bank.

The Authority drew up project requirements for this independent file review process, and invited firms to tender proposals to carry out the work. In September, the Authority announced that, following a comparison and reviewing process of the proposals received, it had selected Mazars, an international firm of accountants and business advisors, to conduct the file review aimed at determining the validity of the experienced investor declaration held by the Bank.

Mazars commenced the independent file review in early September and submitted its Independent Expert’s Report to the MFSA on 21 December 2012. In its Report, Mazars obtained and considered relevant information on the sale of units in the Fund by the Bank to investors, reviewed all the documentation provided by the Bank and any related companies (including Valletta Fund Management Limited and Valletta Fund Services Limited) with respect to the sale of the Fund in order to substantiate which investors fell under the criteria of an “experienced investor”, as defined in the terms of the Fund’s supplementary prospectus, and drew up a list of investors who did not qualify as experienced investors.

The Authority will now proceed along the lines of its Directive to the Bank, issued on 1 June 2012, by forwarding to the Bank the final list of investors that are eligible for further compensation. This final list shall include those investors whose complaint with the Authority was upheld by the Bank as eligible for additional compensation.

The Bank shall communicate with the investors on the final list, notifying them of its intention to make an additional compensatory payment to them.