WILLEMSTAD - In a general meeting of shareholders held on September 3, the decision was made to cease the operations of the Banco del Orinoco in Curaçao (BDO). This decision was necessary seeing the current developments on international and local level which practically makes it impossible for BDO to operate.

During the meeting the shareholders were informed of the current situation of the Company with correspondent banks, which have either terminated the correspondent relationships with BDO, or limited the conditions necessary to process transfers. Therefore, executing foreign payments to/for the Company’s depositors has become next to impossible.

Additionally, the U.S. sanctions against the country of Venezuela has made it very difficult for some of the depositors, provided that, as Venezuelan entities or citizens, they are directly affected by those sanctions. Thus, the Company’s clients are currently undergoing high scrutiny to process their transactions.

This situation is further complicated under de-risking policies, whereas Curaçao has been named as “major money laundering countries”. These policies have been set forth by the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten.

The Chairman of the meeting concluded that this scenario has directly impacted on the performance of the Company, reason for which he proposed to resolve on the dissolution of the Company.

The shareholders agreed and indicated that this will be notified to the Central Bank in writing as soon as possible.

After 24 years of operating on the island, the BDO will soon close its doors.