| AIBL Must Pay $23 Million to FTC for Sanctuary Scam |
| Tue, September 24, 2019 |
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| One of the biggest and costliest disputes in Belize's banking history has ended with a now approved 23 million dollar settlement. That's how much Atlantic International Bank must fork over to the Federal Trade Commission - known as the FTC - in the US.
According to a release from the FTC, this represents all of AIBL's U.S.-based assets. This is the penalty for, allegedly, assisting the Sanctuary Belize Enterprise, or SBE in, quote, "deceiving U.S. consumers as part of a scheme to sell property in Sanctuary Belize." The FTC will use the money to refund, or partially refund more than 1,000 consumers who invested in the Sanctuary Belize real estate scam and lost their money. The total sum lost by these investors is reported to be 144 million US dollars.
They are in the US, but what about all those persons in Belize who had deposits in AIBL, Belize. Well, the Central Bank-appointed liquidator Julian Murillo issued his own release today saying, quote, "AIBL's assets in Belize includes...the loan portfolio which represents close to 70% of the total assets. The majority of the fixed assets have already been disposed of via public auction, and targeted values have been successfully realized. A transparent sales process for the loan portfolio has also commenced…my team and I will continue our best endeavors to ensure that maximum values are realized on all assets to safeguard the best outcome for depositors and creditors." End quote.
His release adds that the bank has strongly denied any wrongdoing. Up tp April 2019, when it folded AIBL's management had already spent over $2 million US dollars in legal costs.
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