Ministry asks Soho Mall claim voided

The  Ministry of the Presidency presented on Friday, February 22, an incident of nullity against the admission of a lawsuit filed by  Abdul Waked against the  National Bank of Panama  ( BNP ).

On August 23, Judge  Abel Zamorano, of the  Third Chamber of the Supreme Court admitted a contentious administrative claim for compensation in which Waked claims $1.269 billion from BNP  for damages and losses allegedly caused by the sale of its  Soho Mall. In the sale process, the bank acted as trustee.

In its nullity incident, the Ministry alleges that it has not been notified of the admission of the case, which would have placed it “in a state of material defenselessness”, and cites that Law 135 of 1943 indicates as grounds for nullity the lack of legal notification of any of the parties reports La Prensa.

In addition, it warns that the Third Chamber should not be competent to hear see the case, since the BNP’s performance, as trustee, is framed in the private sphere.

The Ministry of the Presidency recalls that Zamorano rejected a similar claim that Waked previously filed against the BNP, because of the bank’s role as trustee in the sale of the Felix B. Maduro chain of stores. 

Waked ceded his its participation in Felix B. Maduro and Soho Mall, after his inclusion in the  Clinton List of activities related to money laundering and drug trafficking, is prepared by the Office of Asset Control Abroad (OFAC), from the United States Department of the Treasury.

According to Waked -who remains on the Clinton List-, the creditor banks -authorized by the BNP- sold Soho Mall for $345.6 million, in a transaction that -he said- “did not even cover the liabilities, leaving balances to be paid to bank creditors”.