The bank “knew nothing about Mr Greeven’s secret arrangements with Mr De Vries,” it said in its filings.
The bank “must have known or had an idea from the outset that there was a relationship in place between me and Mr De Vries that involved the sharing of my commissions”, Greeven said in his filings for Wednesday’s hearing. Greeven now runs a bed-and-breakfast in Germany with his girlfriend, and also works as a gamekeeper, he said on the witness stand.De Vries would talk about the banks “trying to ‘outdo’ each other in their entertainment of him”, and once boasted that he’d “‘eaten 10 Michelin stars’ worth of meals in two days”, Greeven said.
De Vries told Greeven the fee-sharing “was all fine and that there was also no detriment to Vestia” because the commission payments came from the bank, Greeven said in court filings. “Mr De Vries was trained as an accountant, and so I believed him when he explained all of this and took comfort from what he said.”