Crystallex wins court order against Haitong over Venezuela assets

Haitong International Securities

14/07/2017 20:33

By Brian Ellsworth 
    CARACAS, July 14 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Crystallex has 
won U.S. court approval to bar China's Haitong International 
Securities Group Ltd  0665.HK  from transferring securities 
owned by Venezuela, in a move to recoup damages from an 
expropriation by the OPEC nation. 
    The decision follows a similar one against Japanese bank 
Nomura  8604.T  last month, in what Crystallex says is a broad 
campaign it is waging to seize Venezuelan assets held in the 
United States as recompense for the 2008 nationalization of its 
Las Cristinas gold mine.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1JR1ZX 
    In 2016, the World Bank's International Centre for 
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded Crystallex 
$1.386 billion in compensation for the seizure. 
    Venezuela has made no attempt to pay the company, Crystallex 
said. 
    "We intend to use all means available to enforce the 
judgement," said Robert Weigel, partner at New York law firm 
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which is representing Crystallex. 
    Weigel said the firm was looking to target Venezuela's 
largest asset in the United States: Citgo, a subsidiary of 
Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA  PDVSA.UL . 
    "The prize here is Citgo and we're getting closer to getting 
it," he said. 
    The United States District Court for the Southern District 
of New York granted the request to bar Haitong from transferring 
the securities, according to the court papers. 
    Crystallex, which cited Reuters and other news outlets in 
the request, said Venezuela was seeking to draw down assets in 
the United States to prevent collection on the award. 
    Around 20 companies have filed suits against Venezuela at 
ICSID for a wave of nationalizations under former President Hugo 
Chavez. 
    Crystallex's moves against Haitong and Nomura are the most 
aggressive to date. 
    As Venezuela undergoes a major crisis, with millions 
suffering food shortages and soaring inflation, the ruling 
further complicates the nation's efforts to raise cash from 
international financiers. 
    Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in 
recent months against President Nicolas Maduro, who succeeded 
Chavez after his death. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1JZ0CU 
    Opposition leaders are urging banks not to finance Maduro's 
government, citing human rights violations. 
    Maduro insists his government is victim of an "economic war" 
and has lambasted the opposition's campaign to block financing 
deals. 
    Both Haitong and Venezuela will be able to respond to the 
restraining notices, Crystallex said in its request. 
    Haitong and Venezuela's government did not immediately 
respond to requests for comment. 
 
 (Writing by Girish Gupta; Editing by Christian Plumb and Andrew 
Hay) 
 ((girish.gupta@thomsonreuters.com; +584241017786; Reuters 
Messaging: girish.gupta.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: VENEZUELA LAWSUIT/