Banca Popolare di Bari: investigations closed, 88 under investigation for fraud worth over 8 million euros

The Bari financiers have served notices of conclusion of the preliminary investigations, issued by the prosecutor’s office, to the pro-tempore top management bodies of Banca Popolare di Bari and the managers of the credit institution’s branches, for a total of 88 people. The recipients of the provision are being investigated, jointly with each other, in relation to their respective functions, for the criminal hypothesis of fraud, for a total amount of over 8 million euros. An investigation activity resulting from the complaints presented over time by 176 people induced, through tricks and deceptions, as well as taking advantage of the particular situation of vulnerability, to purchase so-called “illiquid” and high-risk financial products issued by the aforementioned banking institution, investigations have allowed to ascertain that the suspects did not provide investors with appropriate information to consciously make their investment choices.

Manipulated customer profiling questionnaires

In particular, the scams carried out would have consisted of: manipulation of the risk profiling questionnaire, with the aim of laying the foundations for the subsequent placement of financial instruments evidently inadequate to the personal characteristics and objectives of the offended person; collection of all the information necessary for the purpose of evaluating the adequacy of the financial instrument to be placed in relation to the experience, knowledge and investment objectives of the customers; delivery to the latter, at the time of execution of the orders, of all the documentation required by law; communication of adequate information on the illiquid and particularly risky nature of the security, not traded on regulated markets and characterized by a risk, which had to be specifically represented; preparation and use of a customer profiling questionnaire model which facilitated the attribution to the investor of a medium/medium-high synthetic risk profile, suitable for the placement of own shares of Banca Popolare di Bari; fraudulent attribution to the aforementioned financial instruments of a lower level of synthetic risk than that attributed to the listed and unlisted shares of third-party banks, in order to manipulate the assessment of adequacy/appropriateness of customers’ investment transactions; indication in the sales prospectus of financial instruments of unclear information on their risk factors; implementation of inadequate procedures aimed at processing sales orders in clear violation of the equality of the shareholders with consequent impossibility of selling the shares themselves when there was the possibility.