Bank of Valletta has said that it will continue with its defence in relation to the Deiulemar case, stating that the ECHR's rejection of its case is on the basis of the fact that they had not exhausted all avenues in Italy yet.

In 2019, Bank of Valletta had filed proceedings against Italy before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The Bank had complained that Italian law does not provide a remedy for its fair hearing concerns in respect of the claim made against the Bank by the curators in the bankruptcy of the Deiulemar Group before the courts of Torre Annunziata, in Italy.

The ECHR has decided that the Bank’s application is, at this stage of the proceedings, inadmissible.

The basis of the ECHR’s decision, the Bank said, is that the Bank still has remedies to exhaust in Italy regarding its fair hearing concerns, and not because it considered the Bank’s complaint unmeritorious.

Some 13,000 bondholders of the Deiulemar Group, a bankrupt shipping company, are claiming €363 million from BOV. An initial offer of €50 million by BOV to settle the claim was rejected.

“Bank of Valletta reiterates that the curators’ claim is entirely without any legal or factual basis, as has been unequivocally confirmed by opinions provided by independent legal experts”, BOV said in a statement.

The Bank said that it will continue to pursue its defence vigorously, including its fair hearing concerns, before the Italian courts.  If those prove unsuccessful, the Bank said that it will petition the European Court of Human Rights again, once the Italian remedies have been fully exhausted.