Question

Moville is a small island in the eastern Caribbean which has a population of approximately 6,500 persons and only one bank, the National Bank of Moville (“NBM”). NBM is experiencing some legal woes with the Kardashka family. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of NBM and head of the Kardashka family is Robert Kardashka, a self-made billionaire who owns two of the four hotels in Moville. Robert does not have a university degree and has no experience in the banking industry. He was appointed as Chairman by his best friend, Ronald Drump, the then Prime Minister of Moville and has served in that capacity for the past ten (10) years.

During his time as Chairman, Robert has used his authority and influence to do a host of transactions. His first action as Chairman was to appoint his wife, Mrs. Kris Kardashka, as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer and the Money Laundering Compliance Officer of NBM based on her experience over the years as a housewife and manager of his home. Kris only had a primary school education and never received any training or certification in the financial services industry.

Robert also caused his elderly sister, Caitlyn, to mortgage her home for the sum of US$1 million, so that he could use the funds to start a restaurant business in 2010. At the time of the transaction, Caitlyn was eighty years old and was partly blind. NBM officials were not aware of this and did not meet with Caitlyn at the time. All of the documents were sent to Robert, who then brought them to Caitlyn for her to sign them. He then submitted the documents to NBM. The loan was approved. In the beginning, Robert would make the mortgage payments on Caitlyn’s behalf. However, after he found out that Caitlyn had left all her property to her son in her will, Robert stopped making the payments. The mortgage has therefore fallen into arrears and NBM is in the process of exercising its power of sale. The property is valued at US$2.5 million. It is Robert’s intention to purchase the property through one of his company’s K. Inc. Robert has therefore instructed NBM to limit its advertisement of the sale of the property to one advertisement in one newspaper. The sale of the property was advertised in ‘The Advocate” on February 20, 2018. The advertisement indicated that the property would be auctioned at a private auction on February 27, 2018. At the auction, only one bid was received in the sum of US$750,000. The bid was from K. Inc. NBM has accepted this bid. Roland has heard the news about the pending sale of his mother’s home and has commenced legal action against NBM.

Robert’s daughter, Kim, has a chequing account with NBM. On January 20, 2018, Kim discovered that a leaf in her cheque book was missing. On March 30, 2018 Kim received her statement from NBM and discovered that her signature was forged on a cheque dated January 30, 2018 in the sum of US$100,000. She reported the forgery to the bank. She now intends to sue the bank for conversion. Robert has demanded that NBM credit Kim’s account.

Kim’s sister, Kourtney has also had a run-in with NBM. She has drawn a cheque on NBM for US$5,000. The bank due to inadvertence refused to honour the cheque citing insufficient funds. Later, it was discovered that the bank made a mistake since the account had sufficient funds. Kourtney intends to sue the bank for defamation.

Robert is also incensed at NBM as NBM intends to close one of its branches in the rural areas in Moville. The building that houses the NBM branch that will be closed is owned by a company owned by Robert. NBM leases the building from this company. At the time NBM was unaware that Robert owned the company. Robert is fearful that if the branch closes he will not be able to get the property rented. He therefore intends to use his power as Chairman to prevent the closure.

In light of all these problems, NBM has decided to seek legal advice.

Using the IRAC method, how do i guide the bank?

Answer 1

The IRAC method follows a basic structure of stating the issues, findings on the basis of facts and conclusion in a unique Issue, rule, analysis, and conclusion style. In this way, every aspect of the case is analyzed and studied properly and the findings are stated in a clear and concise manner.

Issue: Robert Kardshka, a self-made billionaire and an appointed chairman of the National Bank of Moville (NBM) for past 10 years is unqualified for his job. he has also appointed his unqualified wife Kris Kardashka as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer and the Money Laundering Compliance Officer of NBM. the decision was based on his wife's experiences in managing the finances of their home. Robert also mortgaged his elder sister Caitlyn's home for the US$ 1 million, where the papaers were delivered to Caitlyn, who is eighty years ld and partly blind by robert himself for her signature. there were no futrther enquiries on the property and the mortageg pyments had been done by Robert until he found out that Caitlyn has left her property over to her son iin her will. Now after the mortgage payments have stopped, the bank seeks to auction the property which Robert wanted to buy for a much lesser price than its market price under the name of his company K inc. He used his influence at the bank and limited the advertising on the auction to just one ad in one newspaper. the only bid for the property came from his company at the price of US$ 750,000. Robert's daughter Kim has also sued the bank for US $1 million when she found a missing leaf on her NBM's checque book on January 20,2018 and later on found that her signature had been forged on a cheque for the sum of US $ 100,000 January 30, 2018, when she recieved a statement from the bank. Robert has demanded the bank to make the full paymnet to Kim. Kim's sister Kourtney has also sued the bank for the defamation when her cheque had been rejected on the basis of insufficient funds. and lastly, robert wants to prevent a clusre of the bank's branch ina rural area where thebranch has rented on of robert's properties for its ffice. robert is afraid he will not be able to get the property rented wheras the bank had no diea that the property belonged to Robert when they had rented it.

Rule: According to laws in the district of Columbia,

A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for the appointment, employment, promotion or advancement of any relative regarding a position in an agency the public official is serving or exercises jurisdiction over. Exceptions allowed for temporary employment in emergency situations. "Relative" includes: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister

Analysis: According to the law stated above, Robert has used his influence as the chairman of the NBM in illegal ways and for underhand tactics. from employing his unqualified wife to mortgaging his sister's home, and promoting his daughter's claims on the bank, Robert underhandedly used his influence at the bank for his personal gains. he also influenced to limit the advertising on his sister's home and thus, the bank had to suffer loss due to just one bid placed in the auction, that also by Robert's own company. robert was also responsible for misleading the bank regarding the property he owned which the bank's branch had rented. All these incidents are correlated and point towards a full fraud scam by Robert Kardshka and his family to sabotage the bank's standings and to increase their personal wealth by duping the bank of its money.

Conclusion: based on the pieces of evidence and applying the rule of law, any court would find Robert Kardshaka punishable under the rule of law for his underhand tactics and misleading the bank through false and incomplete information given by him. he will be sacked from his post and likely will be given a fine will be peanlised on him for his fraud.