The Supreme Court yesterday discharged a December order freezing the assets of embattled businessman Joseph ‘Joey’ Issa.

Issa’s assets, along with those of his investment companies Wisdom Investments Holdings Jamaica Limited, Wisdom Investments Holdings Limited and Sasha Harjani, secretary of Wisdom Investments Holdings Jamaica Limited, were frozen on December 15 by order of Justice Roy Anderson.

The freeze order was secured by St Ann businessman Arthur Von Strolley, who is suing Issa – his close friend for the past 14 years – to recover some US$1.19 million, he allegedly invested with Issa’s companies.

In setting aside the freeze order yesterday, Justice Patrick Brooks said that the order was in breach of rule 17.4(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules, which stipulates that a inter parte hearing must be held following the granting of an interim freeze order, which was not done.

Brooks also granted leave for Von Strolley to appeal his decision but refused an application by his attorney, Abe Dabdoub, to allow the freeze order to remain in place pending the appeal.

The court also gave Von Strolley an opportunity to renew the application for the refreezing of the assets but he declined the offer. Cost was awarded against Von Strolley.

An order for the defendants to disclose their assets and for their bank, FirstCaribbean, to release certain account information to the court was also discharged yesterday.

Issa was represented by attorney Michele Champagnie.

According to court documents filed on October 16, Issa, son of hotelier John Issa, is being sued for US$1.5 million in damages by Von Strolley after an investment deal linked to the ill-fated forex trading outfit, Olint TCI, went sour.

Von Strolley is contending that he was induced by Issa, who also operates the Cool group of Companies, to invest US$1.19 million with Wisdom Investments Holdings Jamaica Limited, with the agreement that he would get a four per cent per month return on the principal. The claimant said that the money was generated from the sale of his house and from his business, and was invested over a period from June 2007.

In the suit, Von Strolley said that he received various amounts as returns on his investment. However, since February 2008, Wisdom Investments Holdings Jamaica Limited had ceased making returns – calculated at US$337,343.63 – nor had he received his principal, despite repeated demands.

Von Strolley further alleged that Issa had advised him that some of the funds had been invested with Olint TCI without his (Von Strolley’s) authority or instructions, “knowing the said company to be unable to meet its financial obligations”.

Olint TCI, operated by foreign exchange trader David Smith, has had its funds frozen in the Turks and Caicos Islands where it is based and is the subject of several other lawsuits.

But in an affidavit filed Tuesday, December 30, Issa urged the court to set aside the asset freeze and disclosure orders, while alleging that Von Strolley’s claim was “riddled with lies”. He said also that Von Strolley had not told the court what actually transpired.

Issa denied that Wisdom Investments Holdings Jamaica Limited had any dealings whatsoever with Von Strolley, and that either himself or Harjani had any “personal contract or dealings with the claimant”.

Issa instead charged that the dispute arose in respect to an investment which the claimant requested Wisdom Investments Holdings, which was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, to have made on his behalf in Olint.