Judge Sara Cockerill of the Commercial Chamber of the London High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Cuban government in litigation against investment fund CRF Limited I.
In a press release published on the specialized site Cuban Tradethe investment fund stressed that this decision is an important step forward for CRF and limits Cuba’s defensive options in the case.
The statement also reports that, in an unprecedented move, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, through the ICBC Standard Bank, custodian of CFR’s Cuban assets, has initiated legal proceedings against Cuba for approximately 1.1 billion euros, with the objective of defending the interests of the investment fund.
Finally, CFR also claims that the Cuban government has recently reimbursed it for court-ordered legal expenses following the initial victory in the UK High Court. This gesture, in the opinion of the fund, “acknowledges the validity of CRF’s claims and is a positive sign for CRF and its investors.”
“CRF remains committed to protecting its interests and those of its investors. Despite the continuing challenges, CRF continues to advocate for a just resolution of the debt problem with the Cuban government. But a negotiated result requires goodwill on both sides, and so far the Cuban side has refused to negotiate,” the statement concluded.
At the beginning of last April, the London court ruled that the venture capital fund CRF I Limited is the legitimate creditor of a debt of tens of millions of dollars contracted by the Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC)an entity prior to the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), which the Cuban government intends to separate from its sovereign debt operations.
The decision, made by Judge Cockerill, recognized that the BCN no longer represents the Cuban State, a role that corresponds to the BCC since its creation in 1997, but considered that CRF legitimately acquired the rights to said debt and therefore has the capacity to claim its payment to that entity.
The controversial trial in London settled the question of whether CRF, described by the Cuban regime as a “vulture fund”, legally acquired an unpaid foreign debt and can legitimately claim its interest from Cuba.
Although the official Cuban press has assumed the ruling as a victory, it can also be understood as a defeat for the Cuban claims of not responding to its contractual obligations.
After learning of the ruling, Cuban Justice Minister Oscar Silvera announced that they would appeal it and insisted that CRF is not a legitimate creditor of any of the Cuban institutions and that “there are documents that prove the intention to harm the country and affect the flows of the Cuban economy”.
Silvera argued that there was corruption in the assignment of this debt by Cuban officials, who acted for his benefit, and also assured that the document through which CRF was informed that the assignment was authorized “has serious irregularities.”
