Every day, the CITGO auction becomes more complicated, this time due to a lawsuit by Gold Reserve against Rusoro Mining Ltd to prevent it from participating in the sale, prompting the latter to ask the Delaware Court for protection to ensure the integrity of the process.
Gold Reserve has sued its temporary ally in a parallel court—namely, the Delaware Chancery Court—for allegedly violating a consortium agreement in the bidding for CITGO’s parent company, PDV Holding. They are seeking a court order to exclude it from the auction process overseen by the Delaware Court.
In response, Rusoro Mining Ltd, through its attorney from DLA Piper LLP (US), informed Judge Leonard P. Stark of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware regarding this lawsuit. They indicated that Gold Reserve seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent the purchase of shares in PDV Holding, which owns the Venezuelan refinery.
According to Rusoro, this legal action directly attacks the authority of the District Court and the judicial sales process that Stark has overseen for eight years.
Rusoro’s Report to Judge Stark
On November 10, 2025, Rusoro Mining Ltd. sent a communication to Judge Leonard P. Stark of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware regarding the Crystallex International Corporation case against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which involves the CITGO auction. In this communication, they informed the judge about responding to an action presented by Gold Reserve Ltd. before the Delaware Chancery Court, seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to halt the sale of PDV Holding shares, which Judge Stark oversees.
Rusoro claims that Gold Reserve’s action is a last-minute attempt to undermine the jurisdiction of the District Court and the CITGO auction process. Additionally, it criticizes Gold Reserve for filing almost all of its documents under seal and for opting for a different judicial forum instead of raising its concerns before Judge Stark. Rusoro requests the court to hold a conference to address these issues and ensure the integrity of the sales process.
Rusoro clarified to the judge that Gold Reserve’s lawsuit was filed on November 7, 2025, in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of PDV Holding shares that Judge Leonard P. Stark oversees in the Delaware District Court. They characterize this action as a “last-minute attempt” to undermine the District Court’s jurisdiction and the CITGO auction.
Rusoro’s central arguments are two:
It accuses Gold Reserve of improper sealing by filing almost all its documents under seal, thereby hiding its “weak and unfounded” allegations while publicizing the lawsuit in the media.
It describes this action as a clear case of seeking a favorable forum and claims that Gold Reserve avoided raising its objections before Judge Stark—who has overseen the case for eight years—to present a “collateral attack” in a court without the necessary context.
In response, Rusoro supports Amber Energy’s request for an urgent judicial conference and demands that Gold Reserve be ordered to immediately disclose all its unredacted documents.
Improper Sealing
Rusoro argues that Gold Reserve’s decision to litigate under a cloak of secrecy is unjustifiable and contrary to the transparency that has characterized the CITGO auction process.
Rusoro believes this confidentiality directly clashes with the “open and thorough scrutiny” of the sales process in the District Court, which includes “thousands of pages of public filings and days of live testimony,” including that of Gold Reserve’s CEO, Paul Rivett.
Rusoro asserts there is no legitimate basis for Gold Reserve to conceal its allegations. Specifically, it points out that the agreements upon which the lawsuit is based, such as the “Consortium Agreement,” have already been disclosed to the parties and the Court, making Gold Reserve’s claims of “severe commercial harm” unjustifiable.
According to Rusoro, the secrecy only underscores the cynical and disruptive nature of their submission. It criticizes Gold Reserve for publicizing the lawsuit through a press release without allowing the public, the Court, or the parties to know the nature of its claims, which Rusoro describes as “weak and unfounded.”
Forum Shopping and Attack on Jurisdiction
Rusoro accuses Gold Reserve of deliberately choosing a new forum to evade the scrutiny of the court that has comprehensive knowledge of the case.
Rusoro argues that if Gold Reserve had a recognizable basis to ‘prevent’ the closing of the CITGO auction, it was obligated to raise those issues in the proceedings before Judge Stark, especially during the recent hearings in September and October 2025.
Instead, Gold Reserve opted to ask a different court, which lacks the background or context of this eight-year litigation, to prevent conduct intrinsically linked to the judicial sale authorized by the District Court.
Rusoro defines this strategy as a transparent and ill-timed collateral attack on the jurisdiction of this Court and on any ruling that Judge Leonard Stark may issue.
Support for Amber Energy’s Position
Rusoro Mining Ltd explicitly aligns its stance with that of another interested party, Amber Energy, in support of the request for immediate court intervention.
Rusoro joins Amber’s petition to the Court to “order Gold Reserve to immediately present all documents from its Equitable action to all interested parties in unredacted format.”
Immediate Requests to the Court
Call for a conference as soon as possible to address these issues.
Order Gold Reserve to immediately file all documents from its Equity lawsuit in unredacted form.
Rusoro reserves all rights to seek remedies in this Court.