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Note: In 2003, when Banco Intercontinental, S.A. (Banco), a bank of the Dominican Republic, collapsed and was taken into receivership by the Dominican Government's Liquidation Commission of Banco Intercontinental, S.A. (Commission), the Commission uncovered various accounting irregularities. As a result, the Commission sued Luis Alvarez Renta (Renta), a dual U.S. and Dominican citizen, claiming that Renta had defrauded Banco of millions of dollars largely through Bankinvest S.A. (Bankinvest) which held accounts at Banco and of which Renta was president. Its claims were based on both RICO, an anti-organized racketeering statute, and fraudulent transfer. In the suit, the Commission accused Renta of using Bankinvest with the help of Banco "insiders" to divert funds from Banco accounts into Renta's personal accounts through various methods including payment on LCs, account overdrafts, and currency conversions.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Martinex, J., granted judgment on a jury verdict in favor of the Commission and awarded it approximately US$177,000,000. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Dubina, Kravitch, and Coogler, JJ., in an opinion by Kravitch, affirmed, finding no reversible error by the trial court.

Renta argued that "the entire case should have been dismissed for forum non conveniens, that the RICO claims should have been dismissed for unripeness and because the statute cannot apply extraterritorially, that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law or to remittitur, and that the [trial] court erred in denying post-judgment relief." The opinion noted that the jury had agreed with the Commission's argument that "the funds transfers were simply looting of [Banco]" and disagreed with Renta's argument that "the funds transfers were returns of his capital investments in, or payments on loans that he made."

[JEB/plc]

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