U.S. judge lets Canadian company pursue assets from Venezuela's Citgo

A U.S. judge has granted a Canadian company the right to go after prized U.S. assets belonging to Venezuela, in a bid to get paid on an $1.4 billion award tied to the 2008 nationalization of its gold mining operations by the now cash-strapped South American country. U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Delaware on Thursday granted a so-called writ of attachment to Crystallex International Corp in shares of Citgo Holding, which owns a U.S.-based oil refiner controlled by state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) [PDVSA.UL]. Stark also imposed a temporary stay on Crystallex enforcing the writ to give other parties a chance to weigh in. The judge ruled on Aug. 9 that Citgo Holding assets were subject to attachment. PDVSA said it would appeal. More…