14% Of US$13.575 Billion U.S. Government Foreign Bank Fines Could Have Settled Certified Claims Against Cuba
/If the United States government directed 14% of US$13.575 billion in fines received from foreign banks during the last 14 years, the certified claims against the Republic of Cuba would have been resolved.
There is an ethical quandary for certified claimants and their respective legal counsel: Is it just for a third-party to be the source from which to reimburse certified claimants for actions by the government of the Republic of Cuba? Shouldn’t the government of the Republic of Cuba have “skin in the game?”
After fifty-eight (58) years, the issue for some (perhaps most) certified claimants is resolving the issue so that they, along with other United States-based companies, may determine if they want to re-enter or enter the Republic of Cuba marketplace absent the impediment inflicted by United States laws, regulations and policies. They don’t necessarily care from where the funds originate to provide for compensation.
With a certified claims settlement, United States laws, regulations and policies will have natural trajectory towards change and demise.
Two (2) France-based financial institutions now have the distinction of incurring the largest penalties by the United States government for unauthorized transactions primarily relating to the Republic of Cuba:
Paris, France-based Société Générale S.A. paid US$1.4 billion in 2018; Paris, France-based BNP Paribas paid US$9 billion in 2015; London, United Kingdom-based HSBC Holdings PLC paid US$1.92 billion in 2012; Amsterdam, Netherlands-based The ING Group paid US$619 million in 2012; Zurich, Switzerland-based Credit Suisse AG paid US$536 million in 2009; Basel, Switzerland-based UBS Group AG paid US$100 million in 2004.
During the last fourteen (14) years, US$13.575 billion has been obtained by the government of the United States for financial infractions primarily relating to the Republic of Cuba. NOTE: 14% of the funds would fund 100% of the value of the certified claims.
There are 8,821 claims of which 5,913 awards have been certified by the United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (USFCSC- https://www.justice.gov/fcsc) at the United States Department of Justice which are valued at US$1,902,202,284.95.
Of these claims, thirty (30) United States-based companies hold 56.85% of the total value. The USFCSC permitted interest to be accrued in the amount of 6% per annum; with the current value approximately US$9 billion.
The largest certified claim is by the Cuban Electric Company in the amount of US$267,568,413.62 and the smallest certified claim is by Sara W. Fishman in the amount of US$1.00 with reference to the Cuban-Venezuelan Oil Voting Trust.
The first asset to be expropriated by the government of the Republic of Cuba was an oil refinery owned by White Plains, New York-based Texaco, Inc., now a subsidiary of San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corporation (USFCSC: CU-1331/CU-1332/CU-1333 valued at US$56,196,422.73).
Certified claimants with current or recent activity within the Republic of Cuba include: New York, New York-based Colgate-Palmolive, Moline, Illinois-based Deere & Company, Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines, Boston, Massachusetts-based General Electric, Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International, Chicago, Illinois-based University of Chicago, Denver, Colorado-based Western Union and New Haven, Connecticut-based Yale University among others.
“The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States (FCSC) is a quasi-judicial, independent agency within the Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments, under specific jurisdiction conferred by Congress, pursuant to international claims settlement agreements, or at the request of the Secretary of State. Funds for payment of the Commission's awards are derived from congressional appropriations, international claims settlements, or liquidation of foreign assets in the United States by the Departments of Justice and the Treasury.”
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