SLP, Mexico – The London Court of Appeal rejected on Tuesday the appeal filed by the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) against the investment fund CRF, which is claiming unpaid debts valued at 72 million euros, according to the EFE agency.
The court’s ruling stated that CRF is not a “vulture fund” but the legitimate creditor of the former central bank for the collection of the debt contracted since 1980.
“This unanimous decision is a fundamental milestone in our efforts to achieve justice and enforce contractual rights,” Jeet Gordhandas, a representative of CRF, told EFE. The fund was registered in the Cayman Islands in 2009.
The decision comes after the National Bank of Cuba, in July, contested the legitimacy of CRF I Limited as its creditor to claim 72 million euros in sovereign debt before the London Court of Appeal.
According to EFE, during the appeal hearing — which the regime sent its spokesperson Humberto López to cover — the BNC argued that Judge Sara Cockerill, who in April 2023 ruled that the BNC had recognized CRF as a creditor in 2019, was wrong to validate the transfer to CRF of contractual rights over the original loan titles from European banks. This transfer was signed on November 25, 2019, by the former BNC operations director, Raúl Olivera Lozano, who is currently imprisoned in Cuba in connection with this case.
The BNC claimed that the transfer was invalid because Olivera had not followed the proper internal procedures, which required certification with two signatures. CRF, however, disputes this argument, asserting that the transaction did not fall strictly under banking operations.
CRF also argued that even if Olivera had acted without authorization, the BNC effectively validated the transfer by responding to letters from CRF’s British legal representatives.
The investment firm CRF I Ltd sued Cuba and its former Central Bank in 2020 over two loans originally granted to the island by European banks in the 1980s.
In April 2023, during a hearing held at the High Court of England and Wales, Judge Sara Cockerill ruled that the British High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case against Cuba but did have jurisdiction over the case against the National Bank of Cuba ( BNC).
“CRF has succeeded against the BNC… at the same time, it has lost against Cuba,” the magistrate stated while summarizing her decision in a brief hearing, according to Reuters at the time.
Following the ruling, David Charters, chairman of CRF I Limited, described the court’s decision as “a complete victory.” In this regard, Charters said in a statement that CRF “remains committed to finding a solution with Cuba that will have no impact on its budget for at least five years, recognizing the difficult economic situation the country is facing.”
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