Peter Perotti appointed director on La Valette, Wignacourt funds

A former head of Bank of Valletta's investment arm Valletta Fund Management has been appointed director on the board of the bank's La Valette Funds Sicav plc.

Peter Perotti joined Bank of Valletta Group in 1979 and is general manager of Valletta Fund Management. Formerly personal assistant to the bank chairman between 1989 and 1991, he was executive head of Wealth Management and International Clients.

Since becoming the subject of an investigation by the financial regulator, the La Valette Sicav saw the appointment of two new directors, Danny Rosso and Martin Wonfor. The Sicav's chairman is former ambassador Salvino Busuttil.

In May, former BOV chief executive Tonio Depasquale resigned from director on the boards of La Valette and Wignacourt Funds Sicavs.

In 2011 and 2012, the MFSA found BOV in breach of financial regulations in connection with the La Valette's multi-manager property fund in the first of three investigations.

The bank and subsidiary company Valletta Fund Management were fined a total of over €550,000 for regulatory breaches.

In January 2012 one of the fund's directors, John Ripard, resigned after the authority reprimanded him - following a second probe - for selling his holdings in the fund before the bank decided to suspend trading after incurring substantial losses to its property portfolio.