WILLEMSTAD - On October 9, 2006, the banking license of the First Curaçao International Bank (FCIB) was withdrawn by the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (BNA) and the court of first instance of the (former) Netherlands Antilles - at the request of BNA - pronounced the emergency regulation with regard to FCIB. BNA is the legal predecessor of the current Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) which is currently supervising the banking system.

As a result of the emergency regulation, FCIB is currently under the control of CBCS. The reason for this was a Dutch criminal investigation into FCIB, which led to a conviction and a transaction for FCIB in 2012/2013. In October 2017 and March 2018, the headquarters of the FCIB in Curaçao was searched under the leadership of the examining magistrate. Direct cause for the searches were incoming foreign legal assistance requests at the Public Prosecution Service Curaçao (OM) regarding FCIB.

The results of the criminal investigation in Curaçao confirmed the suspicion that possibly there is culpable money laundering by FCIB regarding several bank accounts. That matters led the OM and FCIB to conclude a transaction agreement.

FCIB waives specific account balances in the context of the transaction. This means that these account credits have been withdrawn from the bank. The remaining account balances are paid to the legitimate account holders or deposited in a consignment fund that is managed by CBCS. The Public Prosecution Service expects the transaction to contribute to the rapid settlement of FCIB as a bank and the emergency regulation can be lifted.