The Arco saga could have another chapter. Deminor is considering new legal action.
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Deminor has attracted approximately 5,000 aggrieved Arco cooperants for a new legal procedure. In the coming months, a decision will be made on exactly which steps will follow, says Erik Bomans of the legal advice office. Last year, Deminor lost a lawsuit before the Brussels company court on behalf of some 2,200 cooperators of Arco, the then financial arm of the Christian labor movement that itself went bankrupt in the aftermath of the collapse of the banking group Dexia at the end of 2011. The consultancy wanted to obtain compensation via the lawsuit against Arco, Belfius – legal successor of Dexia – and the Belgian state – involved via the state guarantee that has meanwhile been removed after a long legal process. The case was argued in the old NATO buildings.
Deminor has already announced that it will appeal against the verdict that fell in November† But the consultancy is working on two tracks† Deminor called on new injured Arco cooperatives to register with a view to new ‘legal steps’. The registration period initially ran until Thursday, but it has now been decided to extend it to a later date. ‘Today there are about 5,000 registrations. The figures continue to increase every week and growth is accelerating even further,” says Bomans.
• ‘I lost more than a year of wages to Arco’
On Thursday, the interest group ArcoClaim announced that it will ask the judge to appoint a judicial mediator. In this way an amicable settlement in the case should be found.
Bomans van Deminor notes that in the past there was little enthusiasm for mediation. ‘You have to be two for that. A mediation is only successful if there is the will to end the dispute. There have been attempts. But every time it got serious, an agreement was ultimately not reached’, says Bomans.
About 800,000 Arco cooperatives lost about 1.5 billion euros of their savings as a result of the Arco debacle.
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