UK Lawsuit Seeks US$100+ Million From Central Bank Of Cuba & Government Of Cuba. Four Countries. Three Banks. Questions- Defining A "Loan" And Capacity To Contract. Read The 14 Court Filings.
/Creditor In UK Seeks US$100+ Million From Cuba
Six Judges So Far
Four Countries (Cuba, France, Italy, United Kingdom)
Three Banks (Cuba, France, Italy)
Dispute On Defining A Loan
Dispute About Who Had Capacity To Sign
Illegal Acts?
Cubans In Prison
Objecting To “Vulture Fund”
US$1+ Million Legal Expenses
Lawsuit Filed February 2020; Trial October 2022
CRF I Limited (Cayman Islands), V. Banco Nacional de Cuba, The Republic of Cuba. High Court of Justice, Business And Property Courts Of England And Wales, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court [Part 7 Claim- General Commercial Contracts], Royal Courts of Justice. [CL-2020-000092 Filed 18 February 2020; Court Filing Fee £10,000.00 (approximately US$13,000.00].
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher UK LLP (plaintiff)
Memery Crystal (plaintiff)
7 King’s Bench Walk (plaintiff)
PCB Byrne LLP (defendant)
Essex Court Chambers (defendant)
Brief details of claim:
1. The Claimant ("CRF I") is a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands which holds unpaid Cuban sovereign debt obligations.
2. The First Defendant is the Banco Nacional de Cuba ("BNC"), which is the "Borrower" under the Debts further described below.
3. The Second Defendant is the Republic of Cuba ("Cuba"), which is the "Guarantor" of such Debts.
4. CRF I claims, as assignee under a "Notice of Assignment and Agreement(s) to be bound" dated 13 June 2019, to which the Defendants confirmed their agreement by BNC's letter dated 25 November 2019, sums due and owing to it from the Defendants under the Debts and the Guarantees further described below.
5. The Debts comprise the following written agreements: (1) A "Short-Term Non-Trade Related Indebtedness" dated 17 January 1982, entered into between BNC as "Borrower" and Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland NV as "Bank" as amended, (the "Credit Lyonnais Debt"); and (2) A "Short-Term Bank Non-Trade Related Indebtedness dated 30 January 1984, entered into between BNC as "Borrower" and lstituto Banco Italiano as "Bank" as amended (the "181 Debt") (together, the "Debts").
6. It was a term of each of the Debts that Cuba enter into a guarantee of the obligations of the "Borrower" thereunder substantially in the form set out in Part IV of the "Particulars" to the Debts (see Clause 23 of the Credit Lyonnais Debt and Clause 23 of the IBI Debt). Cuba entered into such guarantees: (1) in respect of the Credit Lyonnais Debt, on dates presently unknown to CRF I, but in any case by 25 January 1984 (as evidenced by BNC's letter of that date to Credit Lyonnais Bank Nederland NV); and (2) in respect of the IBI Debt, on 30 January 1984 (together, the "Guarantees").
7. As reflected in BNC's letter dated 25 November 2019, the principal amounts under the Debts (exclusive of all unpaid and accrued interests) are: (i) DEM 22,500,000 (equivalent to €11,504,067.33) in respect of the Credit Lyonnais Debt; and (ii) DEM 5,750,000 (equivalent to €2,939,928.32) in respect of the IBI Debt.
8. Interest has accrued on such principal amounts in accordance with the terms of the Debts.
9. The following table sets out in respect of each Debt the principal and accrued interest that are due and owing to CRF I as at the date of this Claim Form and the daily rate at which interest will continue to accrue after that date:
10. CRF I is entitled to and claims from each of the Defendants as "Borrower" in the case of BNC and as "Guarantor" in the case of Cuba: (1) the sum of € 72,122,664.70 in respect of principal and accrued interest under the Debts; and (2) a further sum to be quantified in respect of such further interest as has accrued under the Debts by the time of judgment or payment, whichever is the sooner.
Link To Court Filings:
Claim Form (18 February 2020)
Order (8 March 2021)
Amended Claim Form (16 March 2021)
Consent Order (17 May 2021)
Sealed Amended Claim (14 June 2021)
Amended Points Of Claim (14 June 2021)
Amended Details Of Claim (15 June 2021)
Order (17 June 2021)
Consent Order (13 July 2021)
Consent Order (19 July 2021)
Points Of Defence (23 July 2021)
Consent Order (4 August 2021)
Points Of Reply (4 October 2021)
Defendant’s Response To The Claimant’s Part 18 Requests Of The Points Of Defence (11 November 2021)
Bloomberg
New York, New York
3 May 2018
Cuba Creditor Hires Lawyer Who Won Argentina Debt Settlement
London Club member trying to recover $1.3 billion from Cuba
Creditors had offered to restructure commercial loans
An investment fund that’s seeking a payout from the Cuban government on more than $1.3 billion in defaulted debtand back interest has hired the lawyer who won a settlement for hedge funds in a long-running legal battle against Argentina. CRF I Ltd. contracted Matthew McGill, a partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent it in its claim against Cuba “including potential litigation,” according to a letter from the firm provided to Bloomberg News by a fund investor. McGill will be joined by Charles Falconer, the former British secretary of State for Justice, according to the letter.
CRF is the largest debt holder in the London Club, a group of creditors with a total of more than $5 billion in defaulted commercial debt and back interest. The debt dates back to the 1970s and 1980s and trades at about 23 to 24 cents on the dollar, according to the creditors. The Cuban government has said it intends to clear such obligations as it seeks a return to international capital markets. Cuba’s former President Raul Castro negotiated a settlement of $11.1 billion in sovereign debt to the Paris Club of creditors, which forgave all but $2.6 billion. The London Club -- which includes CRF, Stancroft Trust Ltd, Adelante Exotic Debt Fund Ltd, and a commercial bank -- also offered to restructure the loans earlier this year but withdrew the proposal when Cuba failed to respond.
A spokesman for CRF said the company wants to work with Cuba’s new government, under President Miguel Diaz-Canel, “to resolve issues so Cuba can return to the international markets.” McGill and the Cuba Finance Ministry didn’t reply to emails seeking comment. McGill represented NML Capital Ltd for more than 10 years as it sought to recover on defaulted sovereign bonds from Argentina. After winning a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, NML and other hedge funds settled with Argentinafor $4.65 billion. More recently, McGill represented funds that hold Puerto Rican municipal debt in a case that was heard by the Supreme Court in March.