The amount is related to the case of the debt with the CRF fund, this time for damages to the creditor
14ymedio, Madrid, August 3, 2026 / Three days after receiving a new blow in the case of its debt with the CRF I Limited investment fund, the Cuban authorities have opted for silence, as they had done after two other unfavorable rulings in London. In November 2024, the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) was ordered to pay 72 million euros by the UK Supreme Court, and in April 2025 the regime lost an appeal that had been blocking it from continuing to challenge the ruling.
Now, the Commercial Court of the British capital has made public its latest ruling on the litigation, ordering the BNC to pay some 24 million dollars more, in damages, along with court costs. The creditor officially reacted to the ruling this Monday, which was signed on Friday and had already been reported by some independent Cuban media outlets and Miami television stations, which also released a letter the fund sent to Miguel Díaz-Canel to discuss the outstanding debt.
CRF has said that it repeatedly attempted to engage in constructive dialogue with the Republic of Cuba and the National Bank of Cuba (BNC) to resolve Cuba’s long-standing commercial debt, under terms fair to creditors, commercially realistic for Cuba, and capable of facilitating the country’s eventual return to international financial markets.
In the letter addressed to the president, CRF’s president, David Charters, proposed holding confidential talks and outlined possible solutions
In the letter addressed to the president, CRF’s president, David Charters, proposed holding confidential talks and outlined possible solutions, such as growth-linked instruments, debt-for-equity swap agreements, and other structures designed to preserve Cuba’s short-term liquidity. There was no response.
“CRF had no realistic alternative but to continue protecting its rights through the English courts,” the fund now states, viewing the current ruling as “a significant development.” Although it insists that its primary preference is not litigation but dialogue, it stresses that this requires “a serious and constructive attitude on the part of Cuba and the BNC.”
The fund has praised the Cuban government’s 176 new measures, seeing in them a possibility for understanding. “We have observed the more progressive and pragmatic tone of Cuba’s recent proposals on economic reform, foreign investment, private capital, and the modernization of the financial system. These developments are potentially significant. A credible commitment to recognized commercial creditors would be a practical demonstration that Cuba intends to translate reform announcements into a lasting change in economic approach,” it states.
For now, the regime continues to opt for silence and has said nothing in official media about the new British ruling. Over the years, this case has been handled with great care by the government, which has only spoken out when judicial decisions were relatively favorable to it. The government’s biggest victory was that the British court found it immune as a State and ruled that it was the BNC that had to bear responsibility, but in practice the result is the same, since the entity is state-owned.
The case dates back to the 1980s, when the Cuban regime signed loans with Credit Lyonnais and Istituto Banco Italiano, which it later transferred to ICBC Standard Bank (the British subsidiary of the Chinese bank ICBC). CRF, a fund created in 2009 in the Cayman Islands, acquired that debt, valued at more than 72 million euros, in 2019, and attempted to contact the Cuban side to collect it.
The case dates back to the 1980s, when the Cuban regime signed loans with Credit Lyonnais and Istituto Banco Italiano, which it later transferred to ICBC Standard Bank
The Cuban State argued that CRF acquired the debt invalidly, since the BNC’s then chief operating officer, Raúl Olivera Lozano, signed the transaction without following “proper internal procedures,” which is why he is now in prison. The BNC also claimed that it did not receive the contractually required notice for the reassignment of the debt and, consequently, denied that CRF was the legitimate owner of the debt.
The courts ruled on the matter in April 2023, when the judge determined that the BNC – currently a state commercial bank, but which until 1997 was Cuba’s Central Bank – was responsible for the debt. The ruling stated that CRF – which it considered the legitimate creditor – could claim payment from the entity, though not from the State. Despite the appeals filed, in November 2024 the matter was settled, leaving the ruling final.
The BNC then spoke out, after several days of silence, through a statement insisting that it would continue to defend itself and claimed to have a “firm commitment to dialogue and unwavering respect for debts that have been legitimately incurred.” In April 2025, the last possible appeal was rejected.
Despite CRF’s insistence, Cuba still has not resolved the matter, although under the current circumstances it could negotiate using its assets to end the litigation – a move that would also represent a first step if the regime intends to present itself to the world as a country that honors its obligations.
The difficulties in collecting on this type of claim are widespread. The same London court that ordered the BNC to pay had done the same months earlier with Argentina, in a similar case brought by four British financial institutions – against the funds Palladian Partners LP, HBK Master Fund LP, Virtual Emerald International Limited, and Hirsh Group LLC. In that case, the South American country was ordered by a final ruling to pay more than 1.3 billion dollars, but to this day the creditors have still not seen the debt settled, despite ongoing good-faith talks.
Translated by GH.
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