Mexico's Federal Court of Administrative Justice ruled that the country's banking and securities commission CNBV must pay compensation for irregularly administering a case concerning Ficrea, a popular finance company accused of fraud by more than 6,800 people, El Economista reported.
The court, referred to as TFJA, ordered the CNBV to pay more than 1 million pesos to a Ficrea saver, who filed a claim for property damage.
This the court's second ruling saying that the CNBV should grant the payment, with the first decision issued only a few days earlier and establishing the regulator's direct role in the loss of the saver's assets.
In March, a local collegiate court ruled that the CNBV acted late in the Ficrea case despite knowing of the irregularities since 2011. The commission's auditors also mentioned in a 2013 report that Ficrea's operation was of high risk, but it only intervened in the management of the company in November 2014.
Mexican authorities in 2015 ordered the arrest of the owners of Ficrea on charges of money laundering and organized crime.
"There is already something judged on the fact that the CNBV incurred an irregular activity, consisting of late management intervention, that is already true," Jaime Cruz, a lawyer handling the case, reportedly said. "What is being discussed at the moment is whether the CNBV is responsible for paying the administration," he added.
The CNBV filed an appeal for the first TFJA ruling, sources aware of the case told El Economista. It is also likely that the regulator will appeal the second decision, according to Cruz.
Following the dissolution of Ficrea in 2014, about 2,600 people filed a lawsuit against the company. Of this number, only 158 cases reached the TFJA, which is the final deciding court on the issues.
Of the remaining cases, fewer than five have been passed through collegiate courts to the TFJA for a new ruling that will determine whether or not the CNBV is liable for compensation. So far, the TFJA has ruled in two cases that CNBV's mismanagement has a causal link to the loss of assets of those affected, and that the regulator must compensate those involved.
As of Sept. 27, US$1 was equivalent to 19.65 Mexican pesos.
