Zane DeSilva has rounded on Butterfield Bank in the wake of charges of money-laundering against him being dropped.

Mr DeSilva, a government MP and former bank customer, had faced charges in connection with an alleged scam involving the loss of $800,000 of taxpayer money. But on Monday, the Department of Public Prosecutions announced that it was no longer proceeding with the case.

Speaking immediately after that announcement, Mr DeSilva said the prosecutor’s decision had cleared his name, and he criticised the bank for shutting his account and credit-card facilities, and accused it of treating him as a criminal guilty of the charges before he had even stood trial.

Mr DeSilva said: “My family and I have been through turmoil the last few years. The banks have not been helpful. Let me clarify, the Bank of Butterfield has not been helpful.

“For the Bank of Butterfield to close people’s accounts, cut off credit cards, that needs to be dealt with and it needs to be dealt with quickly.

“No one should be deemed guilty; they should be deemed innocent until proven guilty. The Bank of Butterfield needs a good ‘cut tail’.

“My accounts weren’t frozen. The Bank of Butterfield closed my account and they also closed my credit-card usage, which is absolutely wrong and it needs to be dealt with.

“I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what we went through. There’s nothing worse than being accused of something that you know you absolutely had nothing to do with.”

A bank spokesman emphasised that Butterfield would not comment on individual client matters.

Mr DeSilva did not reveal when Butterfield closed his account, but the bank first took action against him in November 2022, shortly after he appeared in court to face the charges.

It withdrew complimentary tickets for a golf tournament from the MP in light of “the court news”.

In an e-mail to Mr DeSilva, it added: “Our compliance team has concluded we won’t be able to host you tomorrow at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.”

Mr DeSilva said he was considering withdrawing his custom from the bank as a result of the snub.

He told The Royal Gazette at the time: “I don’t feel good about how I was treated. I thought one was innocent until proven guilty — obviously they think differently. I’ve been a customer of theirs for 30 years.”

In February, PLP MP and Deputy Speaker Derrick Burgess — a close friend of Mr DeSilva — revealed that he was aware of four people, including two Progressive Labour Party premiers who had been “kicked out” of Butterfield Bank.

He raised the issue in the House of Assembly again last month, demanding that the bank explain why it had shut the accounts.

Butterfield Bank maintained that it could not discuss individual client relationships, but that it was required to monitor “transactional activity”, and comply with domestic and international laws when terminating accounts with clients.

A spokesman said: “Any decision to terminate an account is consistent with Butterfield’s general terms and conditions and within the bank’s contractual right.”

• UPDATE: this story has been amended to remove comments attributed to a bank spokesman and any inference that Butterfield Bank was responding to Zane DeSilva’s criticisms

• The Royal Gazette may decide to not allow comments on what we consider to be a controversial or contentious story. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers