Ignacio Aparicio, Andersen Tax & Legal's partner and director of the firm's Cuban Desk, collaborates in an article published in the newspaper Cinco Días in which the precautions that Spanish companies with investments in Cuba are taking for a new economic scenario in the archipelago are adopting after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has chosen to tighten the Cuban embargo and has opened the door for individuals and companies in the United States whose assets were confiscated with the arrival of Castro's government to claim compensation.

This possibility is contemplated in Chapter III of the Helms-Burton Act, which regulates the embargo against Cuba from the date of its entry into force. which has regulated the embargo against Cuba since 1996 and which has been suspended with successive extensions of six months since that date. 2019 has been a radical turnaround. The penultimate extension was only 45 days and the last one is even smaller, only 30 days and expires on April 17^th.

With this last extension, the possibility of claiming property confiscated by Castro's government was activated. Since March 17th, individuals and companies can do so, provided that two requirements are met: that the affected party had previously registered his claim against an asset he considered his own and that the company or administration against which the claim is made is on a list of "Cuban restricted persons". The list includes 205 entities.

Several companies have already contracted the services of several law firms to prepare their defence, especially if a second scenario is activated from April 17th. From that date, individuals and companies could claim the recovery of confiscated assets, provided that the U.S. Executive activates Chapter III. Ignacio Aparicio, partner of Andersen Tax & Legal and director of the Cuban Desk of the firm, stresses that there are about 6,000 claims registered before the Commission for the Settlement of Foreign Claims, an agency dependent on the Government, for an estimated amount of 9,000 million dollars (7,959 million euros) but estimates that the overall amount will be much higher.

You could read the full article on this link.