AFA Reinstates Sanctions on Ex-BPA Executives After Court Overturn
Andorra's financial authority has reimposed permanent bans and fines on former Banca Privada d'Andorra leaders following a procedural fix to a 2024.
Key Points
- Superior Court annulled 2020 sanctions in early 2024 due to failure to properly identify executives in initial file.
- New procedure results in permanent bans for Higini Cierco, Ramon Cierco, and Joan Pau Miquel, plus 10-year suspensions and €150,000 fines.
- Additional penalties: De Rosselló (20-year ban, €129K fine); Riberaygua/Borràs (10-year bans, €80K each); Climent (10-year ban, €105K).
- Sanctions upheld as infractions from BPA's 2015 intervention have not prescribed; penalties appealable.
The Andorran Financial Authority (AFA) has reinstated permanent disqualifications and fines against the former top executives of Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA), following a procedural restart after an earlier ruling was overturned.
In early 2024, Andorra's Superior Court administrative chamber annulled the AFA's initial sanctions due to a formal defect. The original 2020 decision had failed to properly identify the affected individuals—Higini Cierco, Ramon Cierco, and former CEO Joan Pau Miquel—in the initial sanctioning file, despite later notifications and document access. The court deemed this an uncorrectable "initial flaw."
The AFA launched a new procedure late in 2024 to address the issue. In early December, it issued fresh penalties, which remain subject to appeal. Higini and Ramon Cierco, along with Miquel, face permanent bans from administrative or managerial roles in the financial system for one very serious infraction under the disciplinary regime in force at BPA's 2015 intervention. They also received two 10-year temporary suspensions each for separate serious infractions, plus combined fines totaling €150,000—lower than the €224,000 in the original case, which cited two very serious and two serious infractions.
The decision also targets former executives Santiago de Rosselló and Ricard Climent, as well as ex-board members Bonaventura Riberaygua and Frederic Borràs, all held accountable for one very serious and two serious infractions. Penalties include: - De Rosselló: 20 years total suspension and €129,000 fine; - Riberaygua and Borràs: 10-year suspensions and €80,000 fines each; - Climent: 10-year suspension and €105,000 fine.
The AFA maintains that none of the infractions have prescribed. BPA was intervened in March 2015 amid irregular management practices.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: