EnniaWillemstad / Philipsburg:--- The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) hereby responds to statements in the media following the letter of 11 November from the supervisory board (SB) of operating companies of Ennia.
On the basis of the aforementioned letter, the CBCS spoke with Mr. F. Metry, the chairman of the relevant Supervisory Board. During this meeting, the CBCS made it clear that the letter contains many inaccuracies and that the supervisory directors apparently assumed incorrect information. On the other hand, it is regretted that the letter has become public. The CBCS is also committed to correcting the most important inaccuracies to the public.
Governance under the emergency regulation
The emergency regulation is an extreme measure that can only be pronounced in serious problems at a bank or insurer. These circumstances justify a special regime that is an exception to the governance of a normally functioning company. In order to be able to carry out its duties under the emergency regulation, the CBCS exercises the powers of both directors and supervisory directors under the law.
For reasons of capacity, expertise, and confidentiality, the CBCS has deliberately chosen at Ennia to maintain a clear dividing line between the operational activities and the restructuring activities. At the operating companies, persons are authorized to manage operational activities as management and others to supervise that management as a supervisory board. This allows the CBCS to focus on the execution of its assignment under the emergency regulation, the restructuring. Not with the proxies, who act for and on behalf of the CBCS, but with the judge who has pronounced the emergency regulation, regular consultations are held on the progress and costs of the restructuring. The court is therefore aware of the costs incurred and also the costs to be incurred in connection with the emergency regulation and has budgeted these as such. In accordance with the legal provisions of the emergency regulation, the CBCS will also report to the Minister of Finance as soon as the emergency regulation is lifted. Importance of the emergency regulation The serious problems at Ennia are caused by large-scale and unlawful withdrawals of policyholder funds. The CBCS has so far found this on the basis of in-depth research. On the basis of this, a legal proceeding was started last October in which Ansary and his colleagues are held liable and monies are claimed (back) in the interest of the policyholders. Various investigations are currently ongoing on the basis of which it is expected that other former officials will also be involved in legal proceedings. The procedures and the damages that can be obtained therefrom are intended to restore Ennia's solvency with the aim that Ennia can fully meet its obligations to policyholders in the long term. These goals justify full enforcement of the emergency regulation. Incidentally, litigation is not an end in itself. If the responsible officials who have penalized Ennia voluntarily proceed to (re) pay the disadvantage that they have inflicted on Ennia or with which they have enriched themselves at the expense of Ennia, a procedure may be omitted.
Mullet Bay
The value of the Mullet Bay location on Sint Maarten has been overvalued by Ansary and his colleagues to an amount of more than NAF 750 million to legitimize the withdrawal of Ennia policy funds. The petition for the liability procedure extensively describes how they have constructed this. The value of the location is based on an appraisal carried out by an independent and internationally renowned valuation company valuation considerably lower. Disputes of this value by Ansary and his colleagues have remained fruitless in all the legal proceedings conducted to date.
Finally
Because the letter from the Supervisory Board contains many inaccuracies and the letter has been discussed in the media, incorrect images arise about the functioning of Ennia under the emergency regulation. The CBCS is also wrongly put in the wrong light. The CBCS remains stable in the implementation of its plan to restructure Ennia and to reclaim funds withdrawn in the interest of the policyholders. A team of specialists from the CBCS, lawyers and financial experts work on this every day. It is important that this can be worked on in relative peace, whereby confidentiality must be guaranteed. As has always been the case, the CBCS will announce the initiation of proceedings and the results thereof. As soon as more can be announced about the restructuring, reporting will follow.