Gama workers not told where wages went

THE Dutch-based bank holding millions in lost wages from thousands of employees of construction giant Gama, yesterday refused to tell workers how their money was being invested.

As revealed in yesterday's Irish Examiner, millions in worker's wages from Gama have been transferred through Dutch-based Finansbank to a mystery third company, despite the fact that workers never knew of the existence of the money.

Under a deal arranged by Gama in 2002, monthly transfers in the names of Gama's workers are immediately transferred from Finansbank to a firm called Ryder Investments.

However, Finansbank vice president Cengiz Benli yesterday refused to divulge the identity of those controlling Ryder Investments, saying confidentiality provisions prevented him from identifying anything about the firm.

Nevertheless, Mr Benli confirmed that upon request from account holders, Finansbank could pay out the balance of the workers' accounts.

He also committed to sending a representative to Ireland to assist workers to apply to have their money transferred should the need arise. But he refused to give a guarantee that the transferred funds are secure. "It is not my job to say this. You are asking me about the credibility of our client," he said.

While Finansbank yesterday confirmed that workers requesting access to their accounts would be paid 3% annual interest on their funds, it remains unclear whether Ryder Investments has made substantial gains from any investments made with worker's money.

Although Finansbank is refusing to reveal how much money is involved, it is estimated that upwards of €40 million could have passed to Ryder Investments from thousands of workers' accounts.

Pressed about apparent irregularities in the Gama arrangement, Mr Benli insisted the bank had always abided by Dutch law.

"Morally I can understand your point of view but I have to act on the law of banking," he said.

Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins, who uncovered the accounts after bringing four workers to Amsterdam to claim their money, said he would be asking the Dutch Central Bank to investigate Finansbank, Ryder Investment and the relationship between the two.

In addition, he is seeking a meeting with the Turkish Ambassador in order to trace former Gama workers who have left Ireland without knowing they have an account in Amsterdam.

"It is clear that Finansbank has some serious questions to answer now about these accounts set by Gama. How can you have accounts sitting there for three years with absolutely no transactions, no statements sent out and no worker claiming any of the funds there when obviously these are workers with no funds and families back in Turkey," Mr Higgins said.