US Treasury lists reasons for hit on Panama bank

The U.S. TREASURY Department  has  given Waked family attorneys   and Panama prosecutors  more to mull over with published reasons why Balboa Bank & Trust and its subsidiaries were included on the Clinton List, which prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in transactions with the bank.

Meanwhile customers have no access to any funds on deposit.

The report, issued by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), stated that Balboa Bank & Trust assisted with the money laundering network linked to Nidal and Abdul Waked, among other members of the family. Ndal Waked is a board member of the bank and in detention in Bogota awaiting extradition to Florida where prosecutors are calling for a 50-year jail term,

The report said the bank offered “financial and technological support, and the supply of goods and services” to the money laundering network.

The Superintendency of Banks, which has taken over the bank, said that it is faced with a complex situation. The agency took control of the bank May 5, saying the move was needed to protect depositors and investors.

The takeover of Balboa Bank & Trust and its subsidiaries was done to allow the orderly collection of the loans granted by the bank to prevent the deterioration of its assets.

Customers do not have access to deposits, and the bank cannot access its foreign assets. It is also prevented from engaging in financial relationships with banks in the United States.

Bank officials claim that the lender has worked with adherence to best practices in the industry, based on firm principles of transparency.

They said  that Waked represented the interests of a minority group of shareholders reports La Prensa.