In a decision that could affect tens of thousands of investors in Spain, the Supreme Court has ruled that Spanish Bankia has to reimburse two plaintiffs who invested 9,997 € and 20,868 € respectively when the bank was floated. This will probably pave the way for other investors who lost money on their investments to pursue legal action, and Bankia has already put aside over 1.8 billion € for this contingency.

The Bankia case is reminiscent of the Slovenian NKBM case. In 2011 Bankia shares were offered to investors and due to the government's encouragement and assurances, the shares were mostly purchased by domestic inexperienced investors, who bought them with the pension saving purposes.

Following successful completion of the "Slovenian Center" project during the European Handball Championship in Wroclaw, Poland, (VIDEO), this February marks the beginning of this year's 2^nd tour of the international business-investor programs of VZMD: Invest to Slovenia – investo.si and International Investors' Network – invest-to.net. These days the island of Grand Cayman is the venue of the important conference Alternative Investment Summit 2016, which is also attended by the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, at the special invitation by one of the event partners.

The prestigious conference at the eminent Ritz-Carlton hotel entitled "Supercharging Alternative Investments in an Age of Uncertainty", was opened by the Prime Minister of the Cayman Islands, Mr. Alden McLaughlin. The events, with Dart Enterprises, KPMG, the Ritz-Carlton and Deutsche Bank as their principal partners, are attended by the most prominent investment bankers and enterprise representatives such as: The Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management, Aberdeen Asset Management, Highland Capital Management, Arbiter Partners Capital Management, Global Health Investment Fund, Darsana Capital Partners etc.

In addition to the international investment funds' representatives, the conference is also attended by many other influential and noticeable people such as the American TV presenter and comedian Jay Leno, the founder of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson, the actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Meghan Markle, and many others.

Apart from interesting developments at the conference, which has become a renowned platform for innovative thinking about alternative investments in the past three years, Mr. Verbič also attended the evening's reception by the renowned law firm Mourant Ozannes.

The tour continued in London, where Mr. Verbič was invited to the grand conference celebrating the fifth anniversary of the European Banking Authority – EBA.

Alongside the European handball championship matches, which are this year taking place also in the Polish regional capital city of Wroclaw, several important business and social events took place within the "Slovenian center - I feel Slovenia" (VIDEO). In addition to the members of the Slovenian handball team, high representatives of Poland and Slovenia, and prominent economic delegations from both countries, the opening of the center was attended also by exceptional Slovenian supporters who created an extremely positive atmosphere.

Within the "Business opportunities between Slovenia and Poland" conference, opened by the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Mr. Zdravko Počivalšek, Slovenia's tourist, sport and cultural attractions, as well as some examples of best practices and additional possibilities for strengthening economic relations and business cooperation were presented. The conference was followed by B2B meetings by both business delegations where great interest was shown for expanding and strengthening the collaboration in future.

In the important Polish regional capital city of Wroclaw the grand opening of the "SLOVENIAN CENTER – I FEEL SLOVENIA" took place on Sunday. Much like the national team's matches at the European handball championship, the center worked towards Slovenia's promotion as it combines the country's sports, business, investment and promotional interests. The opening and reception of the president of the Handball Association of Slovenia, Mr. Franjo Bobinac, was attended by members of the Slovenian handball team, organizers, business people, partners and supporters.

The events continued yesterday with the "Day of Investment Opportunities" which presented investment opportunities in Slovenia and Poland, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) and examples of best practices. The President of the PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD), Mr. Kristjan Verbič, also presented their international business-investor programs: Invest to Slovenia – investo.si and International Investors` Network –invest-to.net, including the premiere of a special presentational video. As the partner of the business center in Wroclaw, the VZMD's team has also been in attendance to effectively present the companies, institutions, and investment projects included in investo.si and invest-to.net, as well as to provide the exclusive video coverage for investo.TV.

The Slovenian Center, under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor, was jointly established by the Handball Association of Slovenia, the Ministries of the Economy and Foreign Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, the Slovenian Tourist Board, SPIRIT Slovenia, Triglav-Rysy Business Club and the VZMD. The VZMD opted for active engagement in Wroclaw due to its successful participation in the highly visible Slovenian Center during the World Handball Championship in Qatar in January last year. In addition, the VZMD has had valuable experiences in collaboration with the Polish retail investors association, the WSE and many other Polish business entities and institutions. They have maintained an active presence for seven yearsat importantinternational business events in Poland and, moreover, in 2011, organized a special Slovenian Day at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

This weekend will mark the beginning of the European handball championship in the important regional Polish capital city of Wroclaw, at which the recognizability of Slovenia will, apart from the national team matches, be also provided for by the "SLOVENIAN CENTER – I FEEL SLOVENIA". The center will represent an exceptional juncture of business and social gatherings which will combine sports, business, investment and promotion interests. Under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Borut Pahor, the Slovenian Center will be established together by the Handball Association of Slovenia, Ministries of the Economy and Foreign Affairs, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Slovenian Tourist Board, SPIRIT Slovenia, and PanSlovenian Investors' & Shareholders' Association (VZMD).

The Slovenian Center at the eminent Monopol hotel will be - apart from many high representatives of Slovenia, among which are the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Miro Cerar, and the Minister of the Economic Development and Technology, Mr. Zdravko Počivalšek - also visited by the prominent Slovenian economic delegation.

In addition to the opening of the Slovenian Center, the delegation members will also attend the reception which will be hosted by the Chairman of the Handball Association of Slovenia Mr. Franjo Bobinac, where the Prime Minister of Slovenia will be the guest of honor. As part of the business event "Business opportunities between Slovenia and Poland", some best practices in business collaboration, Slovenian tourist and sports attractions will be shown, which will be followed by B2B meetings of Slovenian and Polish delegation representatives.

During the event "Day of Investment Opportunities" the presentations of investment opportunities in Slovenia and Poland, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), international business-investor programs of VZMD and best practices and opportunities for business collaboration will take place. The event will be concluded with a business lunch which will be sponsored by the Slovenian Minster of the Economic Development and Technology.

The presentation "Bail-in: How far does it have to go?", which was delivered in the General meeting of the European Federation of Investors and Financial Services Users (BetterFinance) at the eminent Parisian Cercle de l'Union Interalliee by the member of the VZMD Expert Council, Mr. Tadej Kotnik, and the VZMD President and a member of the BetterFinance Executive Board, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, was met with great interest from the highest representatives of investors' associations from 16 EU member states and many other prominent participants. Due to the interest, wonderment, and many questions, the presentation - instead of planned 20 minutes - took more than an hour and was met with overwhelming approval and applause, and the discussion went on into the evening's informal gathering and gala dinner.

The majority of investors' associations representatives from the Western Europe countries - before the presentation of clear evidence and irrefutable arguments - first expressed their outright disbelief that such expropriation as occurred in the Republic of Slovenia - the expropriation without a compensation, based on secret valuations, inconsistent with the IAS and IFRS standards, and on top of it, with no lawsuit allowed - is actually possible anywhere in the EU, let alone in a euro area member state! Mr. Kotnik and Mr. Verbič have comprehensively and thoroughly exhibited activities and procedures pertaining to the scandalous expropriation of the shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks, including the recent developments before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. There they drew convincing and documented comparisons of the unique developments in Slovenia with the cases from Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Otherwise, the VZMD President had also talked about the mentioned issues in a longer interview on Sunday's 3^rd program of TV Slovenia (VIDEO), before he attended the meeting of the Executive Board of BetterFinance in Paris, where numerous topical issues, which are also relevant to the Slovenian capital market and its stakeholders, were addressed, and also about procedures related to the "Volkswagen scandal" as well as the protection of the affected investors, shareholders and users, and potentially suppliers as well, which VZMD has been advocating.

Yesterday in Paris, the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, attended the meeting of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Financial Services (BetterFinance), where many topical issues were addressedaffected investors, shareholders and users, as well as potential suppliers, whom VZMD has also been acting for.

The meeting of the Executive Board of BetterFinance was followed by the General meeting, where Mr. Tadej Kotnik, a member of the the VZMD Expert Council, joined the VZMD President. Following a proposal of VZMD, one of the key issues of this General meeting was also the »Bail-in« of EU banks, whereby alongside recent cases in Italy particular attention was
paid to the unique case of expropriations in Slovenia. 

As part of the General meeting, the VZMD representatives presented details of the events and procedures pertaining to the case of the scandalous expropriation of shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks, including the recent developments before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

The VZMD President described the mentioned issues also in the Sunday night's longer interview, broadcasted on the 3^rd programme of TV Slovenia (VIDEO).

Last week marked the beginning of this year's 11 tour of the international business-investor programs of the VZMD: Invest to Slovenia - investo.si & International Investors' Network - invest-to.net, on which the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič, visited Belgium and France. In Brussels, he attended the event "The Belgium-Slovenia Business Axis: A New Economic Motor to drive Europe's Recovery?", which was attended by over a hundred companies from Slovenia and Belgium and organized by The Ambassadors' Club of Slovenia in Belgium. Immediately afterwards, Mr. Verbič, as a member of the Executive Board of the European Federation of Investors` & Financial Services Users (BetterFinance), traditionally took part in the award ceremony "European Small and Mid-Cap Awards 2015", organized by the VZMD's international partners – EuropeanIssuers and the Federation of European Securities Exchange (FESE).

In previous years, the VZMD President was the only representative from Slovenia at the high visibility ceremonies, however, this time it was also attended by Mr. Draško Veselinovič, the new Chairman of the Board of the Slovenian Business and Research Association (SBRA), with whom the VZMD has already successfully collaborated, as well as with the founder of SBRA, Mr. Boris Cizelj (VIDEO about VZMD representatives visiting the SBRA headquarters in Brussels). Mr. Verbič also took this opportunity to talk to the representatives of the awarded companies and influential institutions and associations.

XEROS Technology, a British company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and develops and produces polymer beads received the award for the category of the "Best new listed company". For the category of the "Most innovative newcomer", the award went to ERYTECH Pharma which develops innovative cancer treatments and is listed on the Euronext Paris. The Norwegian solar power plant construction company SCATEC SOLAR, listed on the Oslo Børs, received an award for the "Most internationally-minded newcomer", and from the Warsaw Stock Exchange it was the company SELVITA, which is engaged in the research and development of revolutionary drugs and treatments, that received the award for the category of the "Rising star".

From Brussles, the VZMD President set off to Paris where he participated in several concluding events United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), and today at the General Meeting and the Executive Board meeting of the BetterFinance, which is also attended by the member of the VZMD Expert Council, Mr. Tadej Kotnik, with whom they more thoroughly outlined the developments and procedures for the prominent international participants related to the scandalous expropriations of shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks including recent events before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg

After fruitful presentations in the past two years in Abu Dhabi, Astana, Almaty, Baku, Belgrade, Bled, Bratislava, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Buffalo, Bucharest, Cape Town, Celje, Doha, Dubai, Vienna, Eindhoven, Grodno, Helsinki, Istanbul, Yaroslavl, Kiev, Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Madrid, Minsk, Montevideo, Moscow, New Delhi, New York, Ouagadougou, Paris, Piran, Praja, Pristina, Reykjavik, Skopje, Taipei, Tehran, Tirana, Tokyo, Toronto, Warsaw, Vitebsk, Wiesbaden andZagreb, the international business-investor programs of VZMD continue to provide efficient presence and presentation for its partners on five continents this year as well.

If you would like to take part in our events and activities, you are kindly invited to contact the investo.si program coordinator at VZMD by phone +386 31 770 771 or e-mail info@inves>to.si.

The oral proceedings due to the expropriation of shareholders and bondholders of Slovenian banks within the "Kotnik and others" case took place before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg on Tuesday. On the part of the PanSlovenian Shareholders' Association (VZMD), which was first to initiate procedures for the constitutional assessment of the Banking Act (ZBan) two years ago, the interests of the expropriated holders were competently represented by the lawyers Mr. Miha Kunič, Ms. Tamara Kek and Mr. Jorg Sladič, as well as the prime mover of the Initiative within VZMD, Mr. Tadej Kotnik, and the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič.

The other party was represented by two foreign law firms, two state attorneys of the Republic of Slovenia and eight employees of the Bank of Slovenia. The Bank of Slovenia announced that the total costs of this representation will not exceed EUR 85,000!!! In this respect, VZMD seriously questions the role of the Bank of Slovenia as the procedure before the ECJ refers to the constitutionality of the Banking Act and not to the individual contentious cancellations and their economic justification. Namely, the key issue of the procedure is whether the European Commission's Banking Communication (as regards Slovenia) was the binding legal reference. VZMD believes that the mentioned Communication is not binding, which has also been validated by its author - the European Commission.

VZMD also stressed that the one of the opposing parties is also the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Slovenia, which is to represent the Republic of Slovenia, and as such includes the Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia, the National Council and other courts, all of which are also initiators of the Banking Act constitutionality assessment. 

Prior to the public hearing in the EU Court in Luxembourg, last week's show on TV Slovenija called Točka preloma (Break-even point) opened up the opportunity to present the positions of lawyers Mr. Miha Kunič and Ms. Tamara Kek (VIDEO), who through shareholders' and bondholders' agreements as part of VZMD, directly represent over 1,100 expropriated aggrieved parties. Apart from the two lawyers and as part of the expert team of VZMD, the public hearing which was held today in Luxembourg was also attended by the lawyer Mr. Jorg Sladič, a member of the VZMD Expert Council, Mr. Tadej Kotnik and the VZMD President, Mr. Kristjan Verbič. The Bank of Slovenia announced that it will be represented at the hearing which takes only 10 minutes per party - by the Grilc Vouk Škof law firm and the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer law firm from London - and that the total costs of this representation will not exceed EUR 85,000!!!

These days bear witness yet to another facts and moments indicating that cancellation of subordinated bonds and shares of Slovenian banks actually was a plunder of the century. Last week's media publications regarding the conflict of interests of the Executive Director of the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), Mr. Janez Škrubej - who was previously the managing director of Deloitte Svetovanje, d.o.o.  - time and again corroborate the facts which have been pointed out by VZMD ever since the shocking expropriations occurred almost two years ago. The consultancy (!!) Deloitte namely did, for an  enormous amount (again as instructed by the Bank of Slovenia!) a calculation of an extremely negative capital of NLB which triggered the cancellations of holders of shares and bonds and transfers of receivables to DUTB, while its managing director simultaneously stood for the Executive Director of BAMC and was selected out of 250 candidates!

VZMD has since March 2015 pointed to the fact that the Bank of Slovenia performed a manipulation (VIDEO PRESS RELEASE) and commissioned assessments at Deloitte Svetovanje and Ernst & Young Svetovanje consultancies, which are neither auditing firms nor independent corporate and real estate valuers, which they should be pursuant to the Act Defining the Measures of the Republic of Slovenia to Strengthen Bank Stability (ZUKSB) – certified valuer shall be a natural person who has the expertise in valuing companies and real estate. Since the companies mentioned are not auditing firms they cannot be independent valuers as required by the Banking Act. An auditor must follow the International Accounting Standards (IAS), whereas a consultancy is not obliged to. Deloitte expressly stated in the assessment report that no IAS had been applied(Counterarguments to recent statements by the Bank of Slovenia along with additional disclosure of misleading statements, falsehoods and unlawfulness, March 12, 2015).