Lovell says it would be prudent for bank official named in lawsuit to step aside until High Court has settled the matter
Harold Lovell, Political leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), believes the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Bank of Commerce Ltd. should step aside until a recently filed legal matter is heard in the court.
According to documents filed in the High Court of Justice on June 27, 2022, a resident of Jolly Harbour is seeking payment of £2.67 million and US$9.2, or the equivalent in Eastern Caribbean Dollars, with respect to deposits made.
Allegedly, the bank has failed or refused to pay the depositor in spite of his numerous demands for the transfer of all funds owing to him, and the defendants reportedly have admitted they are unable to satisfy them.
Accordingly, Lovell believes that the bank official being sued – Ambassador Brian Stuart-Young – should step away from the institution until the court has settled the matter.
He makes it clear that he is not suggesting the banker is guilty of any wrongdoing; however, stepping down would be the proper thing to do, he says.
Further, Lovell says, the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) should have some interest in this matter.
The UPP Political Leader says this situation has the potential to undermine the bank – which no one, including himself, would wish to see happen.
Lovell is calling on the Administration to be responsible in the way it handles this situation – especially since Prime Minister Gaston Browne has already publicly attacked the depositor for suing to recover his own money.
Last weekend, Browne said on radio that the man’s deposits were tied up in “national development.” However, Lovell says it is any depositor’s right to withdraw his money from a bank, following the procedures in place to do so.
While the Prime Minister has come out in defense of his friend, Lovell is asking for certain questions about the sale of the West Indies Oil Company Ltd. – in which the banker was also involved – to be answered.
