Court rules in favour of casinos
The Court of First Instance in Sint Maarten has ruled in favour of casino operations after a bank resolution.
Sint Maarten.- The RBC Royal Bank decided to end financial relations with casino operators “as a result of changed risk profiles which no longer fit the risk appetite.” However, the Court of First Instance ruled in favour of gaming companies forcing the bank to maintain the operators’ accounts and to continue the banking relations.
RBC Royal Bank attempted to close casinos’ accounts in February 2016, although the resolution was denounced by holding company of Jump Up Casino International Race/Sports Consult N.V., Funtime N.V. for Casino Rouge et Noir and Dutch Caribbean Resorts N.V. for Hollywood Casino in one case, and by Vegas Amusements N.V. DBA Casino, Coliseum Realty N.V., Oasis Gaming Company N.V., Pleasure Port Management N.V., Port de Plaisance Hotel Management and Casino N.V., and Tropical Management N.V. in the other.
The operators were forced to close their accounts by May 2016, but the companies were not approved by any other financial institution. Therefore, the RBC Royal Bank extended the deadline to September 2016. The companies finally presented the case to the Court to stop the measure. Now the bank said it fears “reputation damage” as the gaming companies could be considered high-risk clients.
“The holding companies are running casinos in St. Maarten, in some cases for more than 34 years, during which they have been doing business with RBC and its legal predecessors Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) and ABN-Amro,” described The Daily Herald. The Court ruled in favour of casinos arguing that the bank should meet the “standards of reasonability and fairness.”
