Trial in London against Central Bank of Cuba
HAVANA TIMES – Next week a judicial process against the Banco Centra de Cuba will begin in London. The London Royal Court of Justice must judge, and rule at the time, a claim for 72 million euros that CFR I Limited demands from the Central Bank of Cuba.
Cubans officially found out about this legal process through a note from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), published on January 13.
BCC Note:
The Superintendence of the Banco Central de Cuba informs that legal proceedings are currently being developed in London before the British High Court of Justice for a debt recovery claim against the Banco Nacional de Cuba (BNC) and the Republic of Cuba.
The claimant is CRF I Limited, a “vulture fund” incorporated as a business company offshore in Grand Cayman. As is known, vulture funds buy in the secondary market, at auction prices, the debts issued by countries to demand the immediate payment of their 100% under threat of legal action.
In the judicial procedure it is decided if CRF is a creditor of the BNC and of Cuba (in the amount of 72 million euros), who defend that CRF is not a creditor of the BNC or of Cuba and never has been.
The object of this procedure is public debt because it was contracted by the BNC before 1997, when it had functions as the Central Bank. Since then, the BNC has no power to act on behalf of the Cuban government. Neither to approve the assignment of public debt without the prior authorization of the Ministry of Finance and Prices and the Council of Ministers, since the BNC cannot, in any case, authorize the assignment of guarantees granted by the State (sovereign guarantees).
The BNC and Cuba have never ignored their debts and have always maintained their interest in negotiating with their legitimate creditors.
Both the BNC and Cuba are involved in the procedure and will defend their rights.
The Superintendence of the Banco Central de Cuba, as a body of a technical nature, with autonomy for the exercise of its functions assigned by Law, related to the inspection, surveillance and control over the institutions that carry out financial and banking activities in the country, will inform in a timely manner the results of this process.
Superintendence of the Central Bank of Cuba
After reading the note, and we have put in bold letters what we consider the core argument of the Cuban authorities, we can conclude that the CFR I Limited claim does have documents signed by our banking authorities. Otherwise it would never have gone to court.
National banking sources close to Progreso Semanal have confirmed the veracity of the arrest and judicial prosecution of senior BNC officials, presumably linked to this operation with CFR I Limited. Among which they cite Rene Lorenzo, president of the BNC and Raul Olivera, director of operations of the BNC.
Generally, these judicial processes and their final rulings take time and have the characteristics of a saga or series that last for seasons.
We assume that the Cuban authorities, who just recently made public the legal process in progress, will abound on the implications that this case has for Cuba and all Cubans and what the final ruling of this trial could mean.
The only way out of Cubas past and current economic situation is for either the current government to further embrace the free market system/Capitalism and swiftly, or install a government that will.
It is that simple….
Both Russia & China realized that communism nor socialism does NOT work, alone. Even the United States has elements of socialism in its businesses and for its’s citizens. That Russia & China have far greater resources than Cuba, and yet they realized the NEED to inject Capitalism into their economies should have been a wake-up call to the current Cuban government long before the protests of July 11, 2021.
Win or lose, this Vulture Fund will never see a dime as repayment of this debt. The stigma of being a deadbeat debtor is nothing new for Cuba. Besides, even if they had 10 cents on the dollar to repay this debt, this money would be better spent buying food or medicine for the Cuban people.
yet another proof that Cuba has been a bankrupt country for many years, as well as its institutions and the mismanagement regime.