Vultures in pursuit of £1bn threaten debt-relief deal

[Robbien]

Source: The Guardian

Legal action worth almost £1bn by "vulture funds" against some of the world's poorest countries poses a threat to the debt cancellation deal agreed by the G8 at Gleneagles in 2005, the International Monetary Fund warned at the weekend.

The IMF said it was concerned that private creditors were buying debt owed by highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) at cheap rates and then suing them for a profit. It said the litigation presented a "major challenge to the implementation" of the Gleneagles debt-relief deal, which offered full cancellation of money owed to multilateral institutions including the IMF and the World Bank.

. . .

A report on vulture funds by IMF staff showed that 11 out of 24 poor countries approached said they were involved in litigation worth a total of $1.8bn (£900m) with 46 creditors. Ms Williams said: "The problem is only going to continue to grow unless urgent action is taken."

The issue gained prominence this year when an offshore investment fund, Donegal International, won its case against Zambia. Having bought a debt for $3m, Donegal sued Zambia for $55m and was awarded $15.5m in a UK court.

Read more: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2196477,00.html

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Vultures such as Donegal and the Carlyle Group are just piling on top of the poor nations. Greed of the uber-rich is very ugly indeed.

[spag68]

1. I want to know

why does this surprise any one? Super rich are mostly super greedy.