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State court issues a stay on injunction in major money laundering case
MIAMI, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by LISA,
S.A.:
In a last minute decision on Friday, January 20, the Third District Court
of Appeals of Florida delayed the dissolution of an injunction against
approximately $65 million of assets of the defendants Juan Luis Bosch and
Dionisio Gutierrez Mayorga, who are accused by the plaintiff of money
laundering and tax fraud.
The freeze order, which has been in place since 1999, was recently
dissolved by a lower court on January 10. The stay issued Friday by the Third
District Court of Appeals will keep the assets frozen until they have heard
the case and issued a decision.
"We are pleased with the stay, and we believe that it shows that we have a
substantial likelihood of success on the merits of this injunction," said Juan
J. Rodriguez, who represents the plaintiff. "However, the most important case
involving the same parties is in the 11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of
Appeals, which recently took a big step forward."
The federal court announced on January 13 that the case pending in the
U.S. District Court in Miami, before Judge K. Michael Moore, would proceed
against these defendants, which include Fennec Fox, Ltd. and Lemur
Investments, Ltd., the offshore shell corporations of Juan Luis Bosch
Gutierrez, and the title holders of bank accounts holding $46 million dollars
which are frozen pursuant to the injunction issued in state court.
The plaintiffs counsel also suggests that this case will be a defining
moment for the banking system of Guatemala. "This case involves allegations
of fraud and money laundering of historically unprecedented scope for
Guatemala," said Robert Amsterdam, the attorney of Juan Arturo Gutierrez of
LISA, S.A., the plaintiff. "There could be considerable repercussions across
the Central American banking system."
Pollo Campero, the popular fast fast-food restaurant chain that is
controlled by Mr. Bosch and Mr. Gutierrez Mayorga, is directly involved in the
plaintiffs allegations. The plaintiffs counsel alleges that Pollo Campero
has served as a prime vehicle for the defendants wrongful activities, and is
named as "un-indicted co-conspirator" in the federal case.
The dispute of LISA, S.A. (Juan Arturo Gutierrez) vs. Juan Luis Bosch and
Dionisio Gutierrez Mayorga originated in the 1990s during a shareholder
transaction. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants have improperly
diverted millions of dollars into international bank accounts, committing tax
fraud and money laundering.
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