Lawyers representing Venezuela, refiner Citgo Petroleum and their parent companies have filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit challenging a Delaware judge’s order issued last week that allowed the sale of PDV Holding shares.
According to motions filed on Monday (1st), Judge Leonard Stark last week approved the sale of Citgo’s controlling company, PDV Holding, to an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management for US$5.9 billion (R$31.46 billion), a proposal submitted in a court-organized auction.
The deal awaits approval from the US Treasury Department, but Elliott’s subsidiary Amber Energy said it expects to complete it next year.
Lawyers representing Venezuela report irregularities. “The forced sale process was marred by shortcomings and irregularities, including conflicts of interest involving court advisors,” they said in a statement last week. Amber and a judicial official who supervised the auction denied any wrongdoing.
Venezuela and rival Gold Reserve had previously filed objections to Amber’s bid and requests to disqualify the judge and evaluators chosen by the court to evaluate the bids, which a Delaware judge rejected.
The sale is intended to compensate up to 15 creditors for debt defaults and asset seizures in Venezuela. If the deal goes through, companies including miners Crystallex and Rusoro and oil producer ConocoPhillips will recoup billions in auction proceeds.