In a recent article published by Bloomberg BNA, author Lenore Adkins discusses the current status of certified claim holders against Cuba. 

The majority of claims that were certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (“FCSC”) were from the 1960s and 1970s following the takeover and nationalization of Cuba by the Castro regime. The FCSC, which concluded the first Cuba Claims program in 1972, no longer has the authority to update claimant information. Over the years, ownership to the vast majority of certified claims has changed hands as original claimants have passed and companies have come and gone.

Former FCSC chairman, and attorney with Poblete Tamargo, LLP, Mauricio Tamargo, discussed the out of date information as a possible complicaiton to payouts if the government receives the monetary funds to disburse.

 “When a company splits or merges with others, it is up to the proper party to submet new information about claim ownership,” said Tamargo.

Tamargo explains that in the majority of the claims, the current rights holders aren’t known, which is why he has been advocating for Congress or the Secretary of State to authorize a limited program for the commission to update the certified claim holder successor as the current claim holder.

“The whole system is not desigend to go 55 years unpaid,” Tamargo said.

Tamargo also argues that the Cuban government should pay the claims in full, including interest, as officials could borrow money now in anticipation of Congress lifiting the embargo and use it to pay off the debt.

“They have quite a bit of commerce going on. If you factor in that the total settlement agreement will include lifting the embargo, as it surely will, then one can anticipate that the Cubans are going to have a lot of revenue.”

 

The complete article can be found here.