By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A U.S. federal court officer overseeing an auction of shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum requested the judge to prevent creditors from pursuing additional lawsuits that could hinder the sales process.

Three creditors that filed claims with the court but unlikely to receive auction proceeds have launched separate lawsuits this year to recover billions from defaulted Venezuelan bonds. These three creditors – Gramercy Distressed Opportunity Fund, G&A Strategic, and Girard Street Investments – are related entities.

The parallel lawsuits have complicated the auction in U.S. District Court, Delaware, which aims to select a winner this month after several delays and complete the sale in November.

The case originated in Delaware in 2017 by miner Crystallex and has allowed an additional 17 creditors, including bondholders, to pursue shares in Citgo's parent, PDV Holding.

However, the bids received so far do not cover the $21.3 billion in claims registered with the Delaware court. Citgo is valued between $11 billion and $13 billion, with the highest offer in a preliminary bidding round in January at $7.3 billion.

This situation has led some creditors to file lawsuits in other jurisdictions. Gramercy, Girard Street, and G&A's claims are at the bottom of the list for likely recipients of sales proceeds.

Reuters was unable to contact the companies for a comment.

"Certain judgment creditors are seeking to circumvent this court's sale process—despite their previous participation—by filing last-minute lawsuits in other forums," court officer Robert Pincus wrote in his request.

"This threatens to undermine the sale process to the detriment of creditors who followed the court's process," he added. Bidders are concerned that creditors may later claim the assets they are attempting to acquire, he noted.

Pincus' request will be "very difficult to meet," said lawyer Jose Ignacio Hernandez from consultancy Aurora Macro Strategies, as the Delaware court lacks jurisdiction over lawsuits in other states.