US to Permit Court-Ordered Auction of Citgo Parent’s Shares (1)

The US will not block the court-ordered sale of shares of Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent company, PDV Holding, to pay off creditors who have sought payment from the Venezuelan state.

US Justice Department officials said in a letter to a court-appointed representative that the government would not take enforcement actions, paving the way for creditors such as Canadian mining company Crystallex International Corp. to collect their legal claims on the refiner’s sale.

On Monday, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said the US’s “repudiable and despicable” decision threatened the Venezuelan people and the country’s sovereignty, and called to reject it.

Houston-based ...