Former Fortis CEO Jean Paul Votron refused to give evidence to judges in Utrecht on Friday in connection with a damages claim by angry shareholders.

While he is prepared to give evidence, he wants to do this in Belgium and in French, Votron’s lawyer Paul Olden was quoted as saying.
Earlier this week, a Dutch court ruled Votron must appear, saying he could make use of an interpreter if his Dutch is not up the job. Votron has appealed to the High Court, citing European rules on evidence gathering, the lawyer said.
Reaction
It is not clear what action the court will take against Votron’s no show. According to the Volkskrant, the appeal is no reason to delay the hearings.
According to Hendrick Jan Bos, lawyer for the Fortis shareholders, Votron’s refusal is legally considered to be contempt of court.
Two other Belgian former Fortis executives – former supervisory board chairman Maurice Lippens and CFO Gilbert Mittler – are due to be heard on June 8 and June 11.

Share price
A number of investors are suing Fortis for the share price collapse following the partial take over of ABN Amro.
In March, the financial services regulator AFM announced it had fined the former Fortis group a total €576,000 for market manipulation and failing to publish price-sensitive information during the takeover.
Two fines relate to statements by Votron on June 5, 2008 when he said Fortis’ solvency was ‘on target’ and ‘strong’. A month later, the financial services group announced plans to issue new shares, sell off units and slash its dividend.