Gibraltar’s Financial Services Commission has cancelled nine licences of Marrache & Co, the well-known Gibraltar-based international law firm.The Gibraltar FSC said the decision followed an investigation that had disclosed “serious and persistent breaches of Gibraltar’s financial services legislation.”
Gibraltar’s chief justice is understood to be expected to rule today whether the firm may be permitted to continue to practice.A phone call to Marrache seeking comment was not immediately returned. However, managing partner Benjamin Marrache was quoted by the Gibraltar Chronicle as saying: “We intend to appeal the decision of the FSC. If there are any issues involving any of these companies these will be resolved.”
In a statement on its website The FSC said it had “taken immediate measures to safeguard the interests of the existing clients” of Marrache, and had named Grant Thornton (Gibraltar) managing director Frederick White authorised administrator of the seven companies in accordance with its regulations.It said White would “work closely with [Marrache’s] clients in assisting them to transfer their business to other licenced entities at the earliest opportunity, having regard to the particular needs of individual clients.”
Marrache is well known in financial legal circles, particularly in Gibraltar, where it identifies itself as the only Gibraltarian law firm with offices in London, Spain, Lisbon, Prague and Luxembourg.According to the Gibraltar Chronicle, the FSC's announcement that it was cancelling nine of Marrache's licenses came after "weeks of rumours" of difficulties at Marrache, and "a fortnight of frantic activity to establish whether or not client account funds hand been compromised".