US judge denies motions to disqualify officers, advisers involved in Citgo auction

By Marianna Parraga HOUSTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge has denied motions filed by Venezuela and Gold Reserve to disqualify him, a court officer and two advising firms overseeing an auction of shares in the parent of U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, a court filing showed on Thursday. Toronto-listed miner Gold Reserve, which competed with a bid in the auction, and Citgo's owner, Venezuela, accused firms advising the court of receiving some $170 million in fees from affiliates of Elliott Investment Management, whose offer was recommended as the auction's winner, and bondholders that would obtain proceeds as a result. But their motions over alleged conflicts of interest were denied, which allows the complex court-organized sale process of Citgo's parent PDV Holding to move forward for now. "The motions are procedurally defective because they are untimely and because they are based on waived arguments," Delaware Judge Leonard Stark said in his decision. He also said the motions "lack merit." Gold Reserve's request for a stay of the sale process, including the court's evaluation of the $5.9 billion bid from Elliott's Amber Energy recommended by officer Robert Pincus, was also denied. Other legal actions by Gold Reserve at separate U.S. courts seeking to pause the auction, including one before a court of appeals, remain pending. However, Judge Stark has said his intention is to make a final decision on the auction's winner by the end of November. The auction aims to pay up to $19 billion to 15 creditors seeking in Delaware compensation for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga, editing by Deepa Babington)

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