New Compliance Leadership at Greece's Top Financial Institution

12:10 27/1/2025 - Πηγή: Dikaiologitika

Under Kasapaki’s oversight, cash collateral from non-performing loan borrowers was improperly used to purchase shares in the capital increase, a violation that drew scrutiny from regulators.

Argyro Kasapaki, who has served as the Compliance Officer of Piraeus Bank for over a decade, will assume a new role as Advisor to the Bank’s Administration starting February

17, 2025. Panagiotis Tsoukatos has been appointed as her successor to this pivotal position. Kasapaki’s tenure has been marked by handling numerous regulatory challenges, but it has also been overshadowed by significant missteps.

One of the most notable incidents occurred in 2019 when the European Central Bank’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) fined Piraeus Bank €5.1 million for regulatory breaches during the 2015 capital increase. Under Kasapaki’s oversight, cash collateral from non-performing loan borrowers was improperly used to purchase shares in the capital increase, a violation that drew scrutiny from regulators.

Another controversy involved a €122.5 million loan issued by Piraeus Bank on September 6, 2018, to CF Ventus Designated Activity Company, an Irish firm.

The loan was intended to facilitate the acquisition of energy assets from Global Resources, Greenworld Capital, and Euroenergy. In a January 23, 2019, correspondence with supervisory authorities investigating the Piraeus-Libra case, Kasapaki inaccurately described CF Ventus as wholly owned by SoftBank Group Corporation. In reality, 8.43% of the company was owned by the Greek firm Nostira, which was itself under investigation. This discrepancy seems to have resulted from incomplete information, leading to unintentional inaccuracies in disclosures to the regulators.

Only a fraction of the broader challenges during Kasapaki’s tenure has come to light. Allegations of illegal loan write-offs, the use of fictitious invoices, and improper financing of companies connected to former board members of Piraeus Bank have further highlighted compliance issues.

However, the responsibility does not rest solely with the bank. While, in theory, the oversight by the Single Supervisory Mechanism should compel banks to adhere to regulations, in practice, the supervision provided by both the SSM and the Bank of Greece has proven to be equally problematic.

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