Monte dei Paschi di Siena, an Italian bank has had $54 million seized from it. The bank is the oldest financial institution in the world and is being investigated for fraud.
The bank registered last year for $972 million and needed a government bailout. In a statement made on Jan. 25 to CNBC Italy's Central Bank Governor, Ignzaio Visco said that the bank's management is to blame for not disclosing information on possibly dishonest transactions.
"The true nature of some of the transactions involving Monte dei Paschi di Siena emerged only recently, following the discovery of documents kept hidden from the supervisory authority and brought to light by the new management of MPS," Visco said to CNBC.
"There are no more Santorinis," CEO Fabrizio Viola said to the AP, referencing the nickname of one of the trades.
"Viola said two of the transactions were transformed last month, which will help curb losses thanks to favorable trends in bond markets. The third had
The bank had sought a €3.9 billion government bailout with €500 million of that to absorb the impact of the trades.
CFO Bernardo Mingrone said that the bank needs one more year extra, until 2016 to reimburse government aid.
"We are strongly engaged in realizing a demanding industrial plan, made more demanding by the recent events," said Viola to the AP.
The bank, based in Tuscany, was associated with left wing politics and supported the Democratic Party.
"We are risking a banking crisis of confidence over Monte Paschi," says Roberto Maroni in a press release who is head of the Northern League.
Maroni said in the release that the biggest shareholders in the bank is a non profit that was started by the Democratic Party in Italy.
"The bank is controlled by the foundation, which is controlled by the PD. It would be in the PD's interest to clarify everything," he adds.
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