U.S. Ruling Helps Advance Venezuela Creditor Claims

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras didn’t rule on which assets Crystallex could legally seize but opened the door for the mining company to argue that assets owned indirectly by Venezuela, such as U.S.-based oil refiner Citgo Holdings Inc., can be seized in lieu of payment. “We can now go after any commercial assets that belong to Venezuela,” said Robert L. Weigel, a lawyer for Crystallex. To claim Citgo, Crystallex still has to prove the U.S.-based refiner and its parent are little more than thinly disguised arms of the Venezuelan government, or “alter egos” in legal terms, of Venezuela. But The Friday ruling helped push forward a process by which courts can determine which assets can and cannot be up for grabs to Venezuela’s various creditors, who are making claims as the nation spirals closer to defaulting on its sovereign bonds.The government has said it will continue to pay. More…