Have you seen the new update?
17th April, 2020
UPDATE ON THE LIQUIDATION OF CHOICE BANK LIMITED
A. General
The Central Bank of Belize appointed a new Liquidator for Choice Bank Limited at the end of January, 2020 with a view to bringing the liquidation to conclusion. The Liquidator thanks you for your patience while he and his team have endeavoured to resolve issues that were negatively impacting the progress of the liquidation.
B. Distribution of Payments
Since his appointment the Liquidator has worked diligently to resolve a number of outstanding matters, the most pressing of which was to procure appropriate banking arrangements to effect the long delayed distribution of payments to claimants.
The Liquidator is pleased to advise that that goal has been achieved and finalisation of banking services has been underway over the last few weeks despite some delays from the impact of Covid-19 on the operations of the Liquidator’s US bankers. The Liquidator is in discussions to agree on a payment schedule with his bankers and will update claimants as soon as this is available.
The Liquidation team will be contacting claimants over the course of the next two to three weeks to re-confirm payment instructions in preparation for disbursements once the payment schedule has been finalised. Claimants will have the option of receiving payments via either cashier’s cheques or wire transfers.
C. Disposal of Assets (Sale of Distressed Assets)
There was also the matter of closing the sale of distressed assets which had commenced in early 2019. Through a transparent sales process, the sale has now been finalized and has yielded approximately US$9.5 million.
The Liquidator continues efforts to dispose of the remaining financial assets and has sought legal recourse as necessary to ensure recovery.
D. Claims and Objections
A number of objections filed by claimants had been forwarded by the Central Bank of Belize to the Liquidator in early 2019 for secondary review. These were claims that had been submitted within the timeframe as defined by the Domestic Banking and Financial Institutions Act of Belize, but had been initially rejected by the Liquidator. One of these objections was material in size and complexity and therefore required resolution of multiple outstanding matters. During the last two months, the Liquidator and his team were able to review the matter in detail with the claimant and have resolved the related issues. As such, this and other claims have been admitted for payment and will therefore now need to be included in a revised Schedule of Actions as per the governing statute law in Belize.
F. New Schedule of Actions
Based on the foregoing, the additional inflows from asset disposal into the liquidation estate and the increased value of approved claims, it will be necessary to produce a new liquidation Schedule of Actions based on the current financial position. The Liquidator expects to have this completed and published within the next 21 days. This is a necessary step to comply with the letter of the law, ensure fairness to all claimants, and transparently update on the status of the liquidation.
I fully acknowledge and understand that this liquidation process has been ongoing for an unduly extended period of time. I offer my assurance that with our resolution of the various impeding issues, my team and I are committed to bringing the liquidation process to an expeditious conclusion, ensuring the best outcome for you, the claimants, in particular in these trying times.
In the meantime, we will continue to work diligently to progress all matters and offer best wishes for health and safety to you and your families.
Julian Murillo
Liquidator, Choice Bank Limited