Former CABEI president charged with abusing his office to guarantee future profits, and tried to blackmail the bank: the accused is Dante Mossi. The Honduras-based bank, which supports the process of Central American integration, filed the case in a federal court in Washington D.C on Thursday.
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What exactly has been said about the former CABEI President?
CABEI’s lawsuit said Mossi, who led the institution from 2018 to 2023 aimed to drag its reputation through credit rating agencies once he was informed that he would not be reappointed to a second term. It also accuses Mossi of having used a sponsored bank electric vehicle conference in Washington D. C to make connections with an electric vehicle firm. This relationship was claimed to benefit Mossi after he left the bank even though he later started a business of importing cars to Honduras from the same company.
Concerning these allegations, Mossi has refuted any wrongdoings. He said that he only had the business idea after resigning from CABEI and described the allegations as absurd and vengeful.
Retaliation or Misconduct? Mossi Fires Back
Mossi, who has lately been a critic of CABEI’s current leadership, also sued the bank in the Central American Court of Justice based in Managua, Nicaragua. They freely encouraged him to sue for over $2. 4 million as those of its former workers who filed complaints for reputation loss, and unpaid wages. According to Mossi, legal moves by the bank are a result of a lawsuit he has filed against the bank, which he refers to as vindictive.
The words of Mossi were rather simple and clear: “It looks like some kind of retaliation for my lawsuit. ” “Clearly, the goal here is to get me to spend money on a Washington, D. C. law firm. ”
The bank’s complaint also indicates that Mossi’s lawsuit and its publicity campaign against CABEI is an act of extortion. The legal case is for the said plaintiff to try and extort a big and disproportionate amount of money from the said Bank through vile statements on social media against Mossi.
Taking into consideration the role that CABEI and Mossi play in this case, Mossi should. CABEI was established in 1960 with the primary objective of nurturing economic cooperation in the Central American region. Although the bank was established in Honduras, it receives most of its funds from other parts of the world such as Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States. In the past, CABEI has come under pressure for financing dictator’s countries for example Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Before joining the club, Mossi assumed the presidency in December 2018, when Nicaragua was under pressure from international organizations and governments over its human rights record. Nonetheless, CABEI continued approving loans to Nicaragua’s government and police force under global scrutiny of the human rights abuses going on in the country. In the period 2018-2022, the bank granted 2 billion dollars of credit. analyzing the different economic indicators showing that it has loaned about 65 billion US dollars to Nicaragua for different infrastructure and environmental ventures.
The Washington Post’s August investigation showed that when people all over the world were quarantined, CABEI extended the aforementioned criticized credits to Nicaragua, a country that witnessed severe human rights violations by the national police forces – torture and killings.
Controversial Legacy of Modernity
However, despite all the claims that were made against him, Mossi stood in defense of his service at CABEI stating that he was a rather progressive influence at the institution. He also mentioned the recent inclusion of South Korea into the bank as the new extra-regional member and enhancement of its credit rating of CABEI.
Lastly, Mossi said, “I believe I contributed to CABEI; as a matter of fact, that was my goal when I got to the organization. ” He also outlined his sustainability efforts that remain part of the institution’s work.
It is with a sigh of relief that the new president of the bank, Gisela Sánchez Maroto, has brought anti-corruption and human rights policies to the bank after Mossi’s exit. These reforms may include, for instance, a scrutiny of loans granted in the country for the last ten years.
Another important question is What legal claims?
However, Mossi and CABEI are headquartered in Honduras, the lawsuit was filed in Washington, D. C. end where Mossi has an apartment and the EV conference was held. The following legal wrongs are cited by CABEI’s complaint: federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) violation, breach of fiduciary duty, manipulation of the market, interfering with business relations, and performance of a contract. The bank has not given the amount of damages it is claiming although it has filed a case to claim damages.
Conclusion:
The lawsuit to be filed by MAGCA against CABEI underlines various problems related to the bank, such as the bank’s lucrative relations with authoritarian governments and the issues with governance inside the institution. It seems that both sides are entrenched in their positions; Mossi wants CABEI to drop the case as a retrial for what he said is unfair termination of his contract while CABEI maintains that it is tackling credible allegations of misconduct.
