Argentina Takes on Vulture Funds in "Debt Trial of the Century"

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:


Argentina Takes on Vulture Funds in "Debt Trial of the Century"
For years, "vulture funds" have preyed on struggling nations by purchasing their debt for a pittance. Could an upcoming U.S. court decision put an end to the extortion of poor countries?

by Eric LeCompte
posted Apr 22, 2013

Eric LeCompte is the executive director of the Jubilee USA Network.


Last October, soldiers from the West African nation of Ghana boarded an Argentine naval ship called the Libertad. They overtook the crew and brought the ship to port in the town of Tema. This was not an act of piracy, at least not in the sense we normally understand it. The detaining of the Libertad took place after hedge fund NML Capital convinced a Ghanaian court that the ship, which was sailing in Ghanaian jurisdiction, should be held ransom for a debt the hedge funds claimed Argentina owed them.

The saga began in 2001, when Argentina was thrown into economic crisis and defaulted on its loans. Hedge funds swooped in and bought Argentine debt for almost nothing and circled until the country was in recovery to collect the debt in full.

The case is set to be decided in the coming days in the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court, the jurisdiction in which the original loans were contracted. The decision will impact whether certain hedge funds commonly known as "vulture funds"—funds that buy a struggling country’s debt for pennies on the dollar and then sue for the full amount when a country is in recovery—will continue to extort poor countries.

The long 2nd Circuit Court proceedings between Argentina and hedge funds NML Capital and Aurelius has propelled the international debt crisis into the spotlight. It’s been called the “debt trial of the century,” and the proceedings could have the most far-reaching impacts on global poverty in our lifetime. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/argentina-takes-on-vulture-funds

[rurallib]

1. while this is n extremely important decision

I am betting Roberts' Raiders will be prepped to rule for the vultures as fast as they can.