Legal representatives of the Aldesa Group say the company has lost about ¢3.8 billion colones (US$6.6 million dollars) in the last four months, as a result of the investigation against it, of alleged embezzlement of funds.
During a hearing in the Second Civil Court of Appeals of San José, the lawyer Alfonso Jiménez argued that the intention of the financial consortium is to reactivate operations in order to take charge of the economic responsibilities it has with thousands of clients.
“That the measures be adopted because a remedial plan has been presented where, through transparency, the creditors can observe how the company goes forward, preserve it, and thereby pay the people, more than a right is the responsibility we have (…) in the last four months we have had a loss of approximately US$6.6 million dollars and it is necessary to reverse the situation,” Jiménez told the judges.
Last March, Aldesa turned to the Bankruptcy Court of San José (Juzgado Concursal de San José) for “judicial intervention”, an action similar to the well-known Chapter 11 in the United States that involves a reorganization of a debtor’s business affairs, debts, and assets.
The company sought the intervention as it faced serious economic problems in order to overcome the period of crisis and solve the interests of its creditors.
The first request the appeal was rejected.
On Friday, an appeal hearing was held before the Civil Court (Tribunal Civil), where the allegations of the representatives of Aldesa were heard.
The intention of the consortium is to be saved through a process of control and agreement not only with investors but also with judicial authorities.
The loss to more than 500 investors, who invested in the Aldesa consortium, is estimated at US$200 million.
Fear of investors
Investors who, some have been waiting patiently, while others have filed criminal complaints, fear of a bankruptcy process, which is very different from judicial intervention.
The judges will now have several of days to analyze the statements of the Aldesa lawyers, before issuing a resolution.
