Photo: Google Maps

Satabank clients have expressed concern that their deposits, which are currently frozen, are not eligible for compensation as per the Depositor Compensation Scheme.

The Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) is a rescue fund for clients of banks which fall into insolvency, allowing them to recover up to the first €100,000 of their deposits.

Following the MFSA’s recent freezing of Satabank’s assets due to serious money laundering concerns, clients have contacted the DCS to find out whether they are eligible for compensation. Although the bank is not insolvent, clients are unsure whether it will face solvency issues down the line.

However, a client told Lovin Malta that the DCS had informed him he was ineligible as his corporate Satabank account was an eMoney account, while eMoney does not fall under the compensation scheme.

“In the content of the contract, of course, you will find records about the eMoney account, but hardly anyone understands what consequences this entails,” the client said. “Most of the clients think that they keep their money in a trustworthy banking institution but in reality this is just an e-wallet and Satabank buys your trust by pretending that your account is a real bank account instead of eMoney where your money is just virtual.”

Lovin Malta has requested an official statement from the DCS on whether Satabank clients are eligible for compensation.

In its statement last Wednesday, the MFSA assured customers that their money was safe but that it would likely take “several weeks” before they are able to access it. The financial services regulator also said that the release of funds will be subject to unspecified controls and checks and that Satabank customers will have to provide details of another bank account in an EU/EEA jurisdiction opened in the same name as their Satabank accounts.

However, with details on when they will get their money back in short supply, Satabank clients are growing frustrated.

“I think that the MFSA’s job is to warn people about such important things, but they haven’t done anything even though they have been running an. investigation for the last six months,” the client said. “They blocked access to our account on Saturday evening, which is also shocking as they didn’t give us a chance to withdraw our money.”

“[The MFSA] should protect bank’s clients not make their lives more difficult by blocking access to funds of legally operating companies. They should first investigate which accounts are involved in money laundering dealings and then block these accounts. Since 99.99% accounts are not involved in this illegal procedure, why do we all need to take responsibility?”

“Now they notified us that the refund will be possible only to another account with a payment institution in EU/EEA jurisdiction but we are a non-EU company involved in a high risk industry so it is really hard for us to open a bank account in the EU. In general, maybe we are no longer interested in doing any business in the EU and we don’t want to waste our time trying to open a new EU bank account.”

Are you effected by Satabank’s closure? If so, feel free to email us about your experience on [email protected]

READ NEXT: MFSA Keeps Satabank Clients In The Dark About Their Frozen Deposits

Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]