Two artworks from Julio Herrera Velutini’s collection sell for $1.1 million

After finalizing and inspecting an agreement Banker’s Art Collection Julio M. Herrera VelutiniThe two pieces were reportedly sold for about $1.1 millionThis without any prior notice, according to a new resource from Founder Bancredito International Bank and Trust Corporationfiled in federal court,

The pieces are believed to have been sold by the trustee of the liquidation process of the Entity International Banking Corporation (EBI), Powered Administrative Services, LLC.And the identity of the buyer or buyers is still unknown, as “the company did not wish to disclose.”

The action prompted the bank’s parent company, Bancredito Holdings Corporation, to file another lawsuit in federal court on Thursday against Driven for professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion.

“The defendant (Driven) provided a revised list of works of art to the plaintiff (Bancredito). The inventory revealed that the defendant had already sold two valuable pieces from the collection – without notifying the plaintiff or obtaining his approval – even though Driven had enough money to pay his creditors.Therefore the said sale was unnecessary and inappropriate,” the legal appeal said.

Although the sale of the operations was disclosed this week, the transaction was executed in May 2023, the lawsuit details.

the conflict is over 91 works of art by the banker – paintings, photographs and sculptures –It started last January when EBI’s sole shareholder filed a motion to issue a temporary restraining order and precautionary measures to prevent the liquidator from interfering or influencing the operations.

The federal judge assigned to the case, Camille L. Vélez-Rive rejected the request for a temporary ban, giving Driven a deadline of 7 February to respond to Bancredito’s request for precautionary measures on works of art.

However, according to judicial proceedings, on February 7, the parties entered into good-faith negotiations regarding the actions in dispute, agreeing that Bancredito would oversee the collections.

The collection, which was displayed at the bank’s head offices on the Golden Mile in Hatton Ray, As per its last valuation in 2029, it was worth around $22.5 million. Driven apparently did not conduct another appraisal before selling the two works.

“This assessment does not take into account recent events, which have undoubtedly increased the value of the work of art, such as the death of the renowned artist Fernando Botero, whose work forms a large part of the collection,” the legal appeal states. ” The description indicates that one of these works is by Botero.

According to the legal resource, a month after the signing of the agreement, representatives of Herrera Velutini met to inspect the works, as well as to confirm that the apostles “Many valuable pieces were gotten rid of and revealed that almost all of the sculptural fragments of Jesus Rafael Soto had been destroyed”,

Driven gains power of collection after August 2022 Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) will appoint him as the administrator of the bank and later, as receiver in January 2023, will take control of the assets of the International Banking Entity (EBI).

“Prior to settlement, Plaintiff’s representatives hand-selected each piece to create a collection that tells a meaningful narrative. The document states that the purpose of the collection is to support Latin American artists through the acquisition of important historical and cultural pieces.

It should be noted that the Bank’s Liquidation and Dissolution Scheme gives the liquidator the power to dispose of the Bank’s assets, allowing works of art to be sold for as long as funds are needed to complete the liquidation. .

According to what has been said in the complaint, Driven would have sold both operations to complete a deal with EBI banking system software provider FIS, for which between $900,000 and $1.2 million would have been agreed.

According to the weekly balances of Bancredito accounts, the institution showed sufficient funds to pay off FIS’s liquidation, specifically $2.9 million, indicates the plaintiff.

“The plaintiff was not informed about the sale. This graph, which shows the flow of money from April 20, 2023, to June 16, 2023, shows that there was no way to determine whether works of art were sold at that time, because the total balances of the accounts would be less. It did not increase,” the lawsuit says.

In response to the appeal filed by Bancredito, This Friday, federal judge Velez-Rive gave Driven until April 5 to respond to the lawsuit. El Nuevo Día through its legal representative Arturo J. Tried to get a response from García-Sola, but there was no response at the time of going to press.

Furthermore, in the appeal, Bancredito attempted to undermine Driven’s performance since its appointment as administrator of the liquidation process and again by refusing to provide access to critical information about the bank’s financial condition through apparent non-compliance. Pointed out compliance, excluding the plaintiff from his conversation. With the Financial Crimes Network (FinCEN) and allegedly obtaining false admissions from the institution.

This legal action is one of the latest claims submitted to the court by Bancredito Holdings against Driven and OCIF with the intention of hindering part of the liquidation process. Most of the efforts of the banker Herrera Velutini have not been resolved in his favor.

Also in January, Richard E. Myers II, federal judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, dismissed a lawsuit filed by Bancredito Holdings against the trustee for alleged failure to comply with his fiduciary duty as trustee by providing information to FinCEN. Rejected., Resulting in a fine of $15 million.

In addition to the controversies that Herrera Velutini has stirred against OCIF over the years, he is also the subject of an investigation by federal authorities for allegedly helping finance former Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced’s political campaign in exchange for her dismissal. Are. George Joyner, then Commissioner of OCIF. The former President is also the target of investigation in this regard.