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Banana baron's reputation tested in family feud trial

Robert Verkaik
Wednesday 23 October 2002 00:00 BST

One of most expensive family feuds in history reached the High Court yesterday as the man nicknamed the Banana Baron of Ecuador defended his reputation under cross-examination by the millionaire barristers of the London Bar.

Alvaro Noboa, who is running for president in Ecuador, has taken a week out of his election campaign to appear on a video link from Quito.

Yesterday Mr Noboa, worth an estimated £1bn, answered accusations that he cheated his sisters out of their share of the family banana business.

The case has cost an estimated £21m in legal fees, and features appearances from some of the highest paid lawyers in the world.

The Noboa litigation involves the internecine squabblings of one of the wealthiest families in South America.

The timing could not be worse for Mr Noboa because the case has interrupted the climax to his bid for the Ecuadorean presidency. With nearly half of the votes counted, Mr Noboa, a hardline right-winger, is in second place behind Lucio Gutierrez.

His sisters, Maria Elena and Isabel, claim that he used "fraudulent misrepresentations" to help in his campaign to take control of the family banana business.

Yesterday Mr Noboa, a qualified lawyer, crossed himself as he prepared to face Gordon Pollock QC, a million-pound-a-year barrister. Mr Noboa was taking no chances and forearmed himself with Anthony Grabiner QC, who commands similar fees to Mr Pollock.

Mr Noboa was first asked about the alleged promises he had made to his sisters over the future control and ownership of the family business.

Mr Pollock asked Mr Noboa whether he had ever made a verbal promise of any sort in any circumstances. The presidential candidate replied: "I'm not a person who makes verbal promises or swears."

Mr Pollock pressed on: "Would you believe it if your sisters made a promise to you?"

Mr Noboa replied: "Most of the things they say are lies. I believe in facts, not promises. Maria Elena deceived me several times ... I believe all my life I have been climbing with God's fate and God's charity ... and people have been attacking me."

At the centre of the sisters' claim is their belief that their father, Luis Noboa Naranjo, deliberately excluded their brother from ownership of the family company, Fruit Shipper Ltd (FSL), which in 1997 had assets in excess of US$850m (£550m). Just before his death in April 1994 he took steps to pass on joint ownership of the company to Maria Elena, Isabel, his third daughter, Diana, and his second wife, Mercedes. The two sisters allege that Mr Noboa was not prepared to accept his father's wish to exclude him and "waged a campaign directed at ousting Mercedes from the management or any other involvement in FSL".

In 1997 Mercedes agreed to sell her shares. Soon afterwards Isabel followed suit.

Mr Noboa then asked for a meeting with his two sisters in which he said he wanted to talk about the fair settlement of the shares.

The sisters claim he told them that he "did not wish to seek or exercise power or control in relation to the company".

But in 1999 Mr Noboa held a meeting of the board of directors, without informing Maria Elena, and then an extraordinary meeting at which his sister was "relieved of her position as vice-president and of any executive duty or role in relation to FSL".

The sisters also allege that Mr Noboa has warned employees that they faced the sack if they had any contact with Maria Elena.

Mr Noboa denies all the allegations. The case continues.

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