WILLEMSTAD--The management of PSB Bank recently discovered an irregularity in its internal processes related to the Pagafasil system at its Curaçao branch. This led to an investigation and, to continue the investigation, a number of employees were suspended.
The Pagafasil system is a bill payment solution deployed by PSB Bank in Curaçao. The investigation concerns the Curaçao branch only, not the St. Maarten branch.
The investigation does not affect the bank’s stability, PSB Bank said in a press release on Tuesday. “While the Pagafasil system has always been safe to use and continues to be so, necessary adjustments are being made to ensure a higher level of internal control. In the meanwhile, clients can still use the system safely,” it was stated in the release.
The irregularity detected “has an impact of [Netherlands Antillean guilders – Ed.] NAf. 900,000,” the bank said. The funds are not from the accounts of clients. “Although this is a considerable amount, it does not affect the financial soundness of the bank in any way. Before identifying this irregularity, PSB Bank already took the necessary steps to upgrade the system on which Pagafasil operates, with the aim to provide better service and to ensure better internal control of the processes related to Pagafasil.”
The reason for the suspensions is to allow space to complete the investigation. It is also important to clarify that not all suspended employees are suspected of direct involvement in the detected irregularity.
To prevent influencing the investigation or tarnishing the privacy of the employees involved, management of PSB Bank will not share additional information at this stage.
