Venezuela bondholder weighs seizure of indicted media mogul’s property

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NEW YORK — A holder of defaulted Venezuelan bonds is considering an try to seize Florida seafront residences belonging to Raul Gorrin, a media mogul accused by U.S. prosecutors of bribing Venezuelan officers to win contracts, court docket filings present.

The doable transfer by Casa Categorical Corp, a little-known Florida agency that was among the many first to sue https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-venezuela-bonds-idUKKBN1OI079 the crisis-stricken South American nation for defaulting on bonds, exhibits how collectors are looking out more and more far afield for property tied to Venezuela.

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A U.S. federal choose within the Southern District of New York dominated in November 2020 that Casa Categorical was entitled to gather $43.2 million from Venezuela in unpaid obligations below two bonds the nation defaulted on in 2018 amid a chronic financial collapse.

In August 2021, the corporate registered that judgment in a federal court docket in Florida. The residences there are owned by two Delaware-registered firms america says are owned or managed by Gorrin https://dwelling.treasury.gov/information/press-releases/sm583 – Posh 8 Dynamic Inc and Planet 2 Reaching Inc, Miami-Dade county data present.

In an Oct. 1 submitting, an lawyer for the 2 firms stated Casa Categorical had compelled them “to file an affidavit stating why sure actual property shouldn’t be utilized towards the satisfaction of the judgment.” The submitting was first reported by monetary info supplier REDD.

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Attorneys for Casa Categorical and for the Delaware firms didn’t reply to requests for remark.

U.S. prosecutors in 2018 accused Gorrin https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-corruption/u-s-prosecutors-accuse-venezuela-media-mogul-of-bribery-money-laundering-idUSL2N1XV05P, proprietor of Venezuelan tv channel Globovision, of violating U.S. anti-corruption legal guidelines by paying $150 million in bribes to Venezuelan officers for the appropriate to take part in profitable forex offers, and laundering funds via U.S. property.

Any try by Casa Categorical to grab the residences would face a number of obstacles, stated Jay Auslander, a associate at legislation agency Wilk Auslander specializing in judgment enforcement.

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“They’re going to have to point out that these property are being held by Gorrin for Venezuela’s profit,” Auslander stated.

As well as, each Posh 8 Dynamic and Planet 2 Reaching had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Division’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) in 2019, blocking U.S. firms from coping with them. Casa Categorical would wish an OFAC license to grab the property, Auslander stated.

The residences owned by Posh 8 Dynamic and Planet 2 Reaching are valued at $6.2 million and $11.8 million, respectively, the property data present. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Modifying by David Gregorio)