Dutch billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn has been ordered by regulators to give up his shares in Novum Bank.
The Malta Financial Services Authority has stripped Boekhoorn of his “fit and proper” status, a regulatory term indicating the billionaire is no longer seen as suitable to be associated with the bank or any other licensed financial institution.
Regulators this week ordered Boekhoorn, described as one of the wealthiest men in the Netherlands, to divest himself of his ownership stake in Novum Bank within six months.
The order will remain in place until “proceedings currently underway” against Boekhoorn are concluded.
Although the MFSA did not name the proceedings in question, Times of Malta has previously reported how Boekhoorn faces criminal proceedings in Reggio Calabria for using “money, goods or assets of illicit origin”.
Boekhoorn and his associates are alleged to have used money made through a business partner’s mafia-linked criminal activities to buy an 80 per cent stake in a casino game design company, via his private equity firm Ramphastos Investments.
Boekhoorn denies the allegations.
In comments to Times of Malta, a spokesperson for Ramphastos Investments said it will fully comply with the MFSA’s directive and is already at an advanced stage of implementing the required action.
“We emphasise that this decision has no impact whatsoever on the operations or stability of Novum Bank Limited, either in Malta or abroad,” the spokesperson said.
Echoing this, a Novum Bank spokesperson said the MFSA’s decision and its implementation have no impact whatsoever on the bank’s operations, governance, or financial stability.
“The bank operates under a robust governance framework that fully complies with the regulatory standards applicable to licensed credit institutions and ensures strong institutional independence in its operations.
“All strategic and operational decisions are determined by the bank’s board of directors, which comprises a majority of independent non-executive members,” the spokesperson said.
Times of Malta has previously reported that an online gambling company owned by Boekhoorn was licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority in 2021, despite officials at the gaming regulator being aware of the charges.
Internal MGA correspondence reviewed by Times of Malta shows that the licence was issued on condition that Boekhoorn does not take any dividends from Habanero Systems or exercise his voting rights in the company until his name has been cleared.
Novum Bank has faced its own regulatory troubles in the past, having been fined €89,000 in 2022 by the FIAU for shortcomings in its efforts to detect potential money laundering.
An inspection by the FIAU, carried out in 2019, found that in one instance, Novum Bank failed to understand the rationale behind a €16 million transfer by one of its clients.
The anti-money laundering body also identified transactions ranging from €400,000 to €2 million which had not been adequately scrutinised by the bank.
Novum Bank has said it does not “fully agree” with the FIAU’s fine.