Central Bank says Belize Bank must deliver by Monday
A decision was delivered late night in the continued legal battles between the Government of Belize and the Ashcroft Group of companies that have been tied up in court in a number of law suits. Last night’s decision came from the Appeals Board of the Central Bank which is not a judicial body and which heard applications by the Belize Bank in respect of two directives issued by the Central Bank of Belize on March fourteenth.
In the first instance, the Board chaired by Justice Samuel Awich, did not grant a stay on the Central Bank’s first directive to the Belize Bank to pay to the government ten million U.S. dollars in connection with the monies granted to the Government by Venezuela. Following this decision, the Belize Bank said the monies will be paid if it is so required but it will be appealing the decision.
The Board has the authority to stay a directive if it finds that there are special circumstances which show that a serious prejudice or loss would occur if the stay isn’t granted. Justice Awich did not accept the Belize Bank’s argument that the government would not be in a financial position to return the monies if the Bank is forced to pay even before an appeal is heard.
In its second decision however, the Appeals Board decided otherwise and agreed to grant a stay to the other directive to the Belize Bank that it must provide the Central Bank with written documentation on the Taiwan ten million US dollars. The decision is somewhat surprising in that the Appeals Board decided to stay the enforcement of one directive but not the other, especially as it is the validity of the issuance of the directives which lies at the heart of the matter. Since the arbitration case with the Government is being conducted in the UK, the Belize Bank had also applied to stay the proceedings pending that outcome. This stay was also refused by the Appeals Board.
The Appeals Board case between Central Bank and the Belize Bank has been set to be heard on October second with a case management session on September twenty-fifth.
At the close of the hearing last night Senior Counsel, Lois Young, Attorney for Central Bank spoke to the press.
Lois Young, Attorney for Central Bank
“It means that the central bank can go ahead and enforce its directive which is by way of criminal prosecutions to anyone at Belize Bank who is responsible for the bank. The charge is failure to obey the directive of the Central Bank.”
Phillip Osbourne, Belize Bank
“If the bank is required to pay, the bank must pay.”
Janelle Chanona
“How do you go about asking for appeal, on what grounds?”
Phillip Osbourne
“We’ll have to consider those further we’ll have to look at the written decision.”
There is more pending litigation between the government and the Ashcroft group and whether or not the tension will be reduced, is yet to be seen. In the past few weeks the government has flexed its muscle and ordered the arrest of the president of the Bank, Phillip Johnson and the C.E.O. of Telemedia, Dean Boyce.
And to keep the pressure up, late this evening, the Central Bank issued a release giving the Belize Bank up to Monday, August eleventh to credit the government of Belize account with the sum of ten million U.S. dollars.
