The Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC) will appeal the ruling of the British court, which this Tuesday considered legitimate a debt claimed by the CRF-I Limited investment fund, from the Cayman Islands.
That same ruling, issued by Judge Sara Cockerill, of the Commercial Chamber of the London High Court, disallowed the consideration of the Republic of Cuba, which had also been sued by CRF, as a debtor.
The decision to appeal was confirmed by Cuban Minister of Justice Oscar Silvera, who assured that the foreign financial institution, which the island’s authorities classify as a “vulture fund,” acted “in bad faith” when filing the lawsuit.
Silvera stated that “there are documents that prove the intention to harm the country and affect the financial flows of the Cuban economy,” according to Prensa Latina (PL) news agency.
The investment fund itself had admitted during the trial that it had acquired the debt “with the sole purpose of initiating this legal claim to force its payment,” according to international media reports at the time.
The debt bonds were previously in the name of ICBC Standard Bank, a British subsidiary of Chinese ICBC bank, and are derived from a loan made to the BNC by two European banking institutions in 1984.
Cuba willing to negotiate its debt with “legitimate” creditors
The minister of justice pointed out that “Cuba is immune to English jurisdiction,” and that “it has no obligation to respond with its assets to the lawsuit,” the report said.
Silvera, like the government and the official Cuban media, considered Tuesday’s ruling “a victory” for the island and explained, quoted by PL, that “an unfavorable result would have led to possible withholdings of state assets and even new impediments to access international financial flows.”
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However, the process continues against the BNC, since, according to estimates by the British judge, the Cuban bank is indeed a debtor of 72 million euros (78 million dollars) and the CRF can file a lawsuit for non-payment.
In addition, the magistrate considered that, unlike the Republic of Cuba, the BNC “is not immune to the jurisdiction of the Court” in which the matter was judged.
However, in Silvera’s opinion, CRF-I Limited is not a legitimate creditor of Cuba or “of any of its institutions,” the Cuban press agency said.
The Cayman Islands fund was created to invest in Cuba’s unpaid sovereign debt and has a bond portfolio that in 2017 amounted to 1.2 billion euros (1.3 billion dollars at current exchange rates). According to the Spanish news agency EFE, it is considered the largest holder of the Cuban debt.
They have 28 days for the appeal, then the billions of USD lawsuits will begin!!!!!!!!!!
Cuba will borrow money but they never pay it back!! No one will ever lend this government money again!!!!!!!