Commercial Civil Trial

The 2008 Supreme Court of Bermuda judgment offers a detailed and authoritative account of how Multi Inversiones and senior members of the Bosch-Gutiérrez and Gutiérrez-Mayorga families diverted profits and dividends that legally belonged to Lisa, S.A. The Court identified these individuals as the Controllers, concluding that they intentionally excluded Lisa from the income generated by the Avícola Villalobos Group. Most importantly, the Judge found that the scheme was directed not by Avícola Villalobos, S.A. (AVSA), but by Multi Inversiones, which the ruling described as the real strategic and administrative command center behind the entire structure.

Although Lisa originally sued AVSA, the Court determined that AVSA did not control the financial or insurance systems used to divert Lisa’s dividends. Instead, the Judge held that:

“Multi Inversiones provides strategic planning, legal advice, fiscal strategy and high-level administration services to the Avícola companies.”

This finding placed Multi Inversiones, not AVSA, at the top of the organizational hierarchy. From this position, executives inside Multi Inversiones designed and managed the reinsurance mechanisms, including the offshore vehicle Leamington Reinsurance Ltd., which played a central role in the misappropriation.

The Court identified prominent members of the Bosch-Gutiérrez and Gutiérrez-Mayorga families as the Controllers responsible for directing the diversion of Lisa’s profits:

• Juan Luis Bosch Gutiérrez
• Dionisio Gutiérrez Mayorga
• Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga

These individuals, together with other executives aligned with the family, exercised real control over the Avícola Villalobos Group. They oversaw the financial operations, approved the mechanisms used to move money offshore, and ultimately benefited from the diverted dividends. Multi Inversiones served as the operational platform through which they executed the scheme.

1. Artificial Premiums Routed to Leamington Reinsurance: The Controllers created “transport reinsurance policies” that the Court found were not genuine insurance. Instead, premiums were inflated or entirely fabricated. Their only function was to shift Avícola Villalobos profits into Leamington Reinsurance Ltd. under the appearance of legitimate insurance transactions.
2. Offshore Dividends Exceeding 10 Million Dollars: After receiving these funds, Leamington declared significant dividends — more than ten million dollars from 1996 to 1998. According to the Court, these distributions did not result from actual insurance activity. They were simply Avícola income funneled through an offshore company controlled by the Controllers.
3. Dividends Redirected Exclusively to the Gutiérrez Family Branches: Instead of sharing these profits proportionally with all shareholders of Villamorey, the Controllers redirected the dividends exclusively to the Bosch-Gutiérrez and Gutiérrez-Mayorga family branches.

Lisa was intentionally excluded. Despite its one-third ownership of Villamorey and the Avícola Villalobos Group, Lisa received none of the dividends it was legally entitled to.

The Supreme Court of Bermuda’s findings offer independent confirmation that:

• Multi Inversiones was the real command center behind the diversion of Lisa’s dividends.
• Senior Gutiérrez family members directed and personally benefited from the scheme.
• Leamington Reinsurance Ltd. was used as a deceptive offshore structure to conceal the misappropriation of profits.

Ultimately, the Court awarded 1,954,104.14 dollars plus interest to Lisa, representing the portion of diverted funds proven at trial. The judgment remains a critical piece of evidence demonstrating how Multi Inversiones and the Gutiérrez family misappropriated dividends from Lisa.