NUNEATON and Bedworth Borough Council has recouped more than £1million of Council Taxpayers money that was lost after the financial meltdown of Icelandic banks.
The local authority has received a further installment of payments following a successful claim to get the cash that was deposited in Landsbanki.
Back in February the Nuneaton News reported that the council had regained a massive £900,000.
Now a second repayment of £375,000 has been made.
This means that the council has been handed back nearly £1.27million of the £3million that was put into the banks and there is still more to come.
Leader of the council, councillor Dennis Harvey, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we have recovered a further £375,000 of local taxpayers’ money from Landsbanki.
“Today’s payment brings the total amount we have recovered from Iceland’s failed banks to nearly £1.27 million, with more to come.
“Despite our success in recovering money we are very conscious that the job isn’t finished.”
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council was granted preferential creditor status on the deposits by the Icelandic Supreme Courts.
This meant that the council’s claim, and that of other UK authorities, would be given priority status and would be paid back first.
The council is set to continue its hard work with the Local Government Association (LGA) and its appointed solicitors to secure the remaining money.
Cllr Harvey added: “The Local Government Association and member councils will continue to work with the various winding-up boards to recover remaining payments.”
The way in which the council has coordinated its legal action with the LGA and other authorities has minimised the legal costs.
The cost of the litigation to date amounts to less than one per cent of the amount the council expects to recover.
It was back in 2008 that the devastating news was discovered that Landsbanki had gone under.
At the time of the collapse of the banks it was revealed that the council had invested £3million of ‘capital’ money.
