Soaring legal fees in snarled Citgo auction rankle companies

Court advisers have billed nearly $30 million for a stalled auction of shares in a parent of Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, raising the ire of creditors that have waited years to get compensation. Citgo, the crown jewel of Venezuela's overseas assets, sits at the center of a Delaware court auction in which 18 companies seek to collect up to $21.3 billion for debt defaults and expropriations in the South American country. Bids in the auction's second round were submitted this year, and the advisers, including an officer appointed by the court to oversee the process, were to deliver a recommended winner in July.