PS takes battle over access to BPA accounts from 2014 to 2025 to the Speaker of Parliament

The Social Democratic Party (PS) has taken its dispute over access to the accounts of Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) to the General Syndicate, the governing body of Andorra’s parliament.

The Social Democratic Parliamentary Group filed a formal request for protection with the Speaker of the General Council on Wednesday after the Ministry of Finance failed to provide the detailed balance sheets and income statements of BPA for the financial years between 2014 and 2025.

The Government’s response is based on the position of the State Agency for the Resolution of Banking Institutions (AREB), which considers the requested information to be confidential and therefore cannot disclose it due to secrecy obligations established under current legislation.

The PS rejects this interpretation and argues that the General Council’s new regulatory framework should allow members of parliament to access the information necessary to perform their oversight and scrutiny duties.

“We do not understand why the Government has not provided the requested information, and we believe it is necessary for the General Syndicate to determine whether this refusal is compatible with the right of members of parliament to obtain the information they need to carry out their duties,” the party said.

PS denounces “institutional opacity”

The Social Democrats argue that the issue goes beyond access to BPA’s accounts and directly affects the General Council’s ability to scrutinise the actions of public bodies. They are therefore calling on the Speaker to rule on the refusal and uphold their request for information.

“Transparency regarding public money must be the foundation of any democracy,” the PS said, warning that parliamentary oversight risks becoming “meaningless” if elected representatives cannot access the documentation required to scrutinise decisions taken by public institutions.

The party also recalled that the issue had already arisen during the legislative process concerning AREB. At the time, the Social Democratic group submitted proposals aimed at ensuring that confidentiality obligations could not prevent parliamentary oversight, but these were rejected by the majority.

The General Syndicate will have to rule

Following the latest refusal, the PS says it cannot “look the other way” and has formally appealed to the General Syndicate to determine whether the response it received infringes or limits the rights of members of parliament.

“We neither understand nor agree with the way the Government is handling this issue and, in particular, we reject this institutional opacity,” the party said.

The request now places the controversy in the hands of the Speaker of the General Council, who will have to address the question of parliamentary access to BPA’s balance sheets and income statements covering 12 financial years, from 2014 to 2025, and determine how far AREB’s confidentiality obligations can extend when weighed against the General Council’s parliamentary oversight responsibilities.