The CITGO auction has turned the Delaware Court into a bustling hub where, day by day, the court clerk is inundated with motions, requests, and various claims. Recently, these have included requests to suspend the sale of the Venezuelan refinery, complaints regarding the actions of the court-appointed expert, and demands for information that has not been provided.
Notably, the former employees of PDVSA refuse to accept their fate and insist on presenting to the court the violations of their rights, demanding to be included in the sale process.
Protests regarding the conduct of the court-appointed expert responsible for overseeing the CITGO auction, Robert B. Pincus, continue to surface. He is accused of numerous irregularities and biases in handling the sale of Venezuela’s main asset abroad.
PDVSA Employees Demand Suspension of CITGO Auction
Leroy A. Garrett, a member of PetroAmigos de Venezuela, sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark, requesting a postponement of the CITGO auction.
The proposed suspension of PDVSA Holding’s asset sale seeks to protect the rights of 23,000 dismissed workers from the oil company. Garrett argues that the auction, driven by a ruling against Venezuela, would result in a “Venezuelan oil holocaust” by stripping workers of their livelihoods and rights.
The letter emphasizes that delaying the sale is not just a legal issue; it’s a matter of humanity and efficiency in the sales process. Workers urge Judge Stark to consider the human consequences of the decision and ensure justice for those affected.
Garrett to File Motions for Human Rights Protection
In a letter to the Delaware Court clerk, Leroy A. Garrett formally requests that several documents be attached to the case of Crystallex International Corporation against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The mentioned documents include a letter to the judge, a motion for a pre-trial conference, a proposed joint statement, a supplemental writing on human rights precedents, and a motion for expedited consideration.
Garrett points out that these materials are related to the CITGO auction and his intention is to ensure that these elements are properly recorded and considered in the judicial process.
Venezuela’s Document Production Requests to Gold Reserve
On July 9, 2025, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela notified the Delaware Court overseeing the CITGO auction that, on July 7, 2025, document production requests were served to Gold Reserve Inc., directed to the registered attorneys.
Additionally, courtesy copies of this evidence discovery were sent to the external attorneys of the Sale Process Parties and the court-appointed expert, following confidentiality provisions.
This notice confirms an active phase in the discovery process of the litigation, which is a standard procedural step in preparing a court case. The presence of the court-appointed expert and references to the CITGO auction suggest a highly complex and potentially high-value case.
Concerns About the CITGO Auction
On July 9, 2025, a communication was made public to Judge Leonard P. Stark of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, from the firm Abrams & Bayliss LLP on behalf of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and PDVSA.
Venezuela and PDVSA expressed significant concerns to the judge regarding the CITGO auction process related to the Crystallex International Corporation case against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. They specifically argue that the court-appointed expert has unduly prioritized the satisfaction of 2020 bondholders, who are not parties to the litigation and hold no valid claim.
They allege that this preference has distorted the bidding process, diminished the value of offers, and potentially violated Delaware law, leading to an unsatisfactory outcome for judgment creditors and for PDVSA.
They accuse the court-appointed expert of justifying the weight given to 2020 Bondholders with the erroneous claim that “such arrangements promote certainty, as if that were the primary objective of the sale process.” They add that this insistence has led to “new uncertainties and further complications.”
They estimate that the 2020 Bondholders have gained “extraordinary influence” and have managed to “hijack the sales process for their benefit and to the detriment of Judgment Creditors and PDVSA.”
They point out that the “Transaction Support Agreement (TSA) that accompanied Red Tree’s entry offer would pay the 2020 Bondholders more than the total principal amount of their claims, despite the strongly disputed nature of the bondholders’ claims.
Request for Timely Access to Court Records
On July 9, 2025, Red Tree expressed to U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark their concerns about CITGO, PDVH (CITGO Parties), and the court-appointed expert’s refusal to provide timely and complete access to court documents.
The requested documents include motions and expert reports that, according to Red Tree, are necessary for their right to due process. They argue that despite having signed confidentiality protection orders, CITGO Parties and the court-appointed expert withheld the documents, preventing Red Tree from adequately preparing their response within tight court deadlines.
In this regard, Red Tree requests that the court order the immediate delivery of all documents in their entirety by the due dates and extend the deadline for their expert reports in response.
On the same date, Judge Stark ordered that:
the Court-Appointed Expert and any Sale Process Party or other interested entity may respond to the request, not exceeding two pages each, by Friday, July 11 at 10:00 a.m.,
Red Tree may submit a reply, not exceeding two pages, by Friday, July 11 at 6:00 p.m.,
a teleconference is scheduled for Monday, July 14 at 4:30 p.m. The Court-Appointed Expert will arrange for a court reporter and the teleconference and will provide call-in information to expected participants, as well as (separatly) in the public record.