The Cuban government wins London trial against CRF I Limited
HAVANA, April 4. The Cuban government wins a trial, after nearly two months of deliberations, the judge in charge of the trial between the Cuban government
and the CRF I Limited fund announced today. The Cuban party won the lawsuit, which means that the plaintiff has no power as a creditor of the State of the Caribbean nation.
In a hearing held this Tuesday in London at the High Court of England and Wales, Judge Sara Cockerill notified the lawyers for both parties of the ruling corresponding to the lawsuit filed by the CRF I Limited fund, at which time she dismissed CRF’s claim against the island government.
According to the report by state spokesman Humberto López, the judicial resolution confirms that the irregularities committed by officials of the Central Bank of Cuba (BNC), firstly subject to investigation and then to a criminal sentence, are reasonable grounds for the Cuban government to the Greater Antilles will deny its consent to assign the debt in favor of the plaintiff.
The document indicates, according to the same source, that the BNC does not have the legal capacity or authority to represent the Caribbean country against CRF I Limited.
“This confirms that CRF is a stranger in the financial instruments that it claimed against Cuba and did not have the right to establish the claim in London,” adds López, who was part of the Cuban entourage in London during the trial.
The Republic of Cuba is, therefore, immune to English jurisdiction and has no obligation to respond with its assets to this claim, he explains.
International media reports at the time of the trial indicated that what was decided with the trial was whether the group of creditors had the power to claim the debt before the High Court in London.
The case gained notoriety since, in addition to being carried out against the BNC and the island’s own Government, if CRF-I Ltd won the process, this was a door for new lawsuits for millions of dollars in loans granted to Cuba throughout decades that the Greater Antilles has not recognized or has not paid.
Despite the fact that the Cuban State won the trial, the losing party can appeal the decision, so the legal battle can be extended, according to experts.
Throughout the process, the Cuban party assured that the fund intended to use a judicial claim that was unfavorable for Cuba, thus trying to prevent the free flow of funds to and from the island and thus block its access to international financial markets.
Meanwhile, CRF I Ltd’s lawyers argued that the operation through which their clients acquired the debt was legal and complied with the rules, and that on several occasions they proposed solutions to the Cuban side, but that they were not heard.
Now, according to reports from the Cuban state media, given the decision of the British judge, the Republic of Cuba is out of the lawsuit and from now on the process will continue only against the Banco Nacional de Cuba.
