Legal battle between CABEI and its former president Dante Mossi

* Dante Mossi calls CABEI’s lawsuit ‘frivolous’ but prepares to face extortion and defamation charges.

** The former president of CABEI, who is also accused of fraudulent activities and corruption, is demanding $2.5 million from the bank over alleged reputational damage.

Sharon Ardon / Expediente Público

Dante Mossi was accused of having set up a scheme to extort, defame and discredit the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The bank filed a civil lawsuit in Washington DC, United States.

The former president of CABEI retaliated between 2018 and 2023 after his position at the institution was not renewed, saying he tried to “damage his reputation and his relationship with his business partners,” according to the lawsuit obtained by Public utility.

The agency’s new board, chaired by Gisela Sánchez, went to a U.S. court under the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as announced on September 5, 2024.

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According to CABEI’s statement, the civil court case against Mossi includes “breach of fiduciary duty, market manipulation, tortious interference and breach of contract.”

Regarding the legal action against him, Mossi assured: Public utility that being in Federal Court in Washington is “frivolous” since he is not a resident of the United States, but of Honduras. However, he is seeking a lawyer to defend himself.

You may also be interested in: Dante Mossi: I have a very clear conscience

CABEI: Mossi discredits revenge

CABEI points out that this civil lawsuit is aimed at defending itself against Mossi’s “extortion scheme”, while at the same time protecting its interests and stopping the illegal defamation of the former official of the financial institution.

Public utility access to the trial Central American Bank for Economic Integration vs. Dante Mossiwith case number 1:24-cv-02544 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The multilateral party alleges that there is an “extortion scheme carried out by the bank’s former Executive President in retaliation for CABEI’s decision, made in good faith, not to reappoint that Executive President for a second term.”

And as a result of this action, Mossi “has embarked on an illegal and corrupt crusade against CABEI, discrediting the company and attempting to damage its reputation and relationships with its business partners.”

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In May 2023, CABEI’s board of directors voted unanimously not to renew Mossi’s five-year term, which “angered Mossi,” the case’s introduction argues.

In context: CABEI is looking for a replacement for Dante Mossi

“Extortion and smear campaign”

In addition, CABEI points out that its former president engaged in a pattern of false and misleading statements specifically targeted at CABEI’s U.S. business partners and the investing public, in order to force CABEI to accept their silence.

As part of this scheme, the suit alleges, Mossi repeatedly threatened to file an apparent lawsuit against CABEI, which he did, seeking millions of dollars in damages for which he “has no authority.”

“Mossi’s message is clear. His attacks on the Bank will not stop until he pays him a large undeserved sum,” the lawsuit states.

You can also read: Dante Mossi will inherit the bureaucratic burden and excessive costs at CABEI

$2.5 Million Lawsuit and Muzzle

In an interview with Public utilityMossi said he did indeed sue CABEI for $6,000 in damages.

Mossi also said that when he left CABEI he was given a non-disclosure agreement that he considers “a muzzle.”

“It said I couldn’t give an interview, couldn’t write a book, couldn’t have social networks, without prior permission from the bank,” he revealed in the interview published on September 8 by Public utility.

After a new meeting, after learning of the bank’s lawsuit, Mossi admitted Public utility that the lawsuit he filed against CABEI at the Central American Court of Justice (CCJ) is seeking $2.5 million.

The Court granted the appeal and what Mossi is claiming is compensation for the alleged damages, because “CABEI has attempted to tarnish my reputation in order to prevent me from obtaining future employment.”

The former president explained that after he left the bank, CABEI made the payment of his allowance conditional on the signing of a new confidentiality agreement, which he rejected and made public.

“The next day they paid, except for the $6,000,” he said Public utility.

Mutual accusations

Mossi in fact openly criticizes the new government of Sánchez, Public utilityhe points to a lack of transparency.

“The financial conditions of the financing, especially in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, reached their extreme in Costa Rica, where it was requested not to publish anything about the approval of a $400 million loan,” he said.

Mossi explained that since March 2023, CABEI began to restrict the publication of information through a communications committee and that this began to limit public information.

Similarly, CABEI alleges in the lawsuit that Mossi used his position and resources at the bank to organize an electric vehicle conference in Washington, D.C., through which he established relationships with a New Jersey company called “Centro.”

Before leaving CABEI, Mossi used his discretionary power to persuade the bank to purchase two electric vehicles from Centro, “without there being a clear commercial rationale.”

Shortly thereafter, Mossi formed a new company “through a deal he negotiated while serving as executive president and trustee of CABEI,” the lawsuit said.

Mossi gave an exclusive interview to Public utility in which he referred to his electric vehicle company.

“From the Central American Bank I have been promoting electric mobility very much, because it is really an area where we are not making much progress,” he said.

In summary, the bank’s lawsuit describes that “Mossi engaged in a pattern of organized crime in the operation of this company, and these predetermined actions have a single purpose: to enrich himself at the expense of CABEI and to the detriment of CABEI.”

“The long arm of the law”

CABEI therefore believes that Mossi violated the RICO Act (the law against market manipulation) based on his alleged illegal conduct while in office.

In view of this, Mexican lawyer and expert in international law, Samuel González, explained: Public utility that there are two types of actions under the RICO Act, criminal and civil.

“Civil RICO can be done by anyone who proves they are fighting the Mafia or a criminal group,” Gonzalez said, noting that this type of lawsuit can make the penalty three times greater than the proven damages.

How is the trial progressing?

The expert attorney said that given the possibility that Mossi will file a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the lawsuit in the US, it would create a series of jurisdictional challenges.

“If Mr. Mossi, as the lawsuit alleges, has engaged in discussions with banks in the United States to stop providing support to the bank, and if he intervenes with companies in the United States, that could give jurisdiction to the United States,” Gonzales said.

The attorney explained that in the US, particularly in New York and Texas, there is a concept of the “long arm of the law,” where verifying that money has been transferred from the US to a Honduran bank, such as an account receiving lempiras of US dollars, can be enough to establish jurisdiction.

Also: Dante Mossi jeopardizes CABEI’s reputation by financing Ortega regime

Nicaragua’s Discord

Bruno Gallardo, the current Minister of Finance and Governor of Nicaragua, sent a letter to CABEI letter to Ana Gisela Sánchez Moroto, director of the bank, stating that the Nicaraguan government does not support the lawsuit filed by his board against Dante Mossi.

“We indicate that the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua does not support this demand and distances itself from it,” Gallardo wrote.

The regime’s public reaction is not surprising, given that Nicaragua was one of the main beneficiaries of CABEI loans during Mossi’s presidency, despite serious allegations of human rights violations and repression.

“We believe that CABEI should focus on financing countries, and avoid media actions that damage their image and make them susceptible to political manipulation,” the statement from Daniel Ortega’s regime said.

Mossi, by his X account (formerly Twitter), thanked Nicaragua for its support and at the same time expressed surprise at the lawsuit CABEI had filed against him.