The Arab Bank and Shahin Group are expected to reach an out of court settlement, wherein the latter is to pay all its debts to the bank following months of legal wrangling, a senior bank officer said on Monday, January 15. The official, who asked not to be named, said the deal could be reached in "the coming few days" after talks between the two sides conclude to end the case "out of court."
"They [Shahin Group] said that they are willing to pay us our money and settle the case once and for all in a peaceful manner," the officer told the Jordan Times. Officials at the Shahin Group declined to comment.
Three months ago the Arab Bank filed six cases against the Shahin Group, a group of commercial firms, for issuing bad checks, the Arab Bank officer said, declining to reveal the value of these checks.
"If they pay us our money, the case will be over, and we shall close this file," the official said.
The Arab Bank officer denied news reports published last month in Arabic dailies that the bank had won a case against Shahin Group.
"The court is still debating the cases which we have raised against the group and we hope to settle these cases peacefully soon," the official added.
In addition to the Arab Bank, two other banks have filed cases against the Shahin Group in the past year.
The business group deals with multi-sectoral interests ranging from car dealership and vegetable oil production to packaging and trade.
The Dubai-based Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Corporation (HSBC) have also intensified their legal battle against Shahin Group. The Standard Chartered has sued the group for failing to repay $77 million in loan and credit facilities between 1998 and 1999. In July, the Court of First Instance decided to freeze the group's assets, a decision which has been appealed.
The HSBC has also sued the group for defaulting on the repayment of a multi-million dollar loan. — ( Jordan Times )
By Tareq Ayyoub
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
