Greg Palast: CONYERS HUNTS BUSH’S VULTURES

[marmar]

Britain presses to stop financial predators snatching debt relief for Africa
Monday, June 11th, 2007

Investigative reporter Greg Palast looks at the battle to end “vulture funds”, where companies buy up debts of poor nations cheaply and then sue for the full amount.

At the close of the G-8 Summit in Germany last Friday, leaders of the world’s richest countries reiterated their commitment, first made in 2005, to cancel all of the debt owed by the world’s poorest countries. However, so-called “vulture funds,” or companies that buy up third world debt at rock-bottom prices and then sue the countries for the full value and more, are undermining any promises of debt relief.

In February, BBC investigative journalist Greg Palast exposed on Democracy Now! how one vulture fund, Donegal International owned by US resident Michael Sheehan, was trying to collect $40 million dollars from Zambia after buying one of its debts for $4 million dollars. Soon after, Congressman John Conyers and Congressman Donald Payne brought this up with President Bush, and urged him to ensure that the G-8 summit would close the legal loopholes that allow vulture funds to flourish. Greg Palast produced this report for BBC Newsnight last week.

* Greg Palast, Investigative reporter with the BBC and author of the books “Armed Madhouse”, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy” and “Democracy and Regulation.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

AMY GOODMAN: At the close of the G8 summit in Germany last Friday, leaders of the world’s richest countries reiterated their commitment first made in 2005 to cancel all the debt owed by the world’s poorest countries. But so-called “Vulture Funds”, or companies that buy up third world debt at rock-bottom prices, then sue the countries for the value and more are undermining any promises of debt relief. In February, BBC investigative journalist Greg Palast exposed on Democracy Now! how one “Vulture Fund”, Donegal International, owned by US resident, Michael Sheehan, was trying to collect forty million dollars from Zambia after buying one of its debts for four million dollars. Soon after, Congress member John Conyers and Congress member Donald Payne brought this up with President Bush. They brought it up a few hours after the broadcast on Democracy Now!, and urged them to ensure the G8 summit would close the legal loopholes that allow “Vulture Funds” to flourish. Well, Greg Palast produced this report for BBC News Night last week.

GREG PALAST:George Bush has flown into the meeting of G8 leaders tonight. Near the top of the list of problems - poverty in Africa. But activists worry that G8 nations aid for Africa is being seized by vultures. In February, News Night exposed the activity of “Vulture Funds.” These vultures figured out how to get their hands on the money our governments give to help out Africa, and put it in their own pockets. They do it by buying up old loans made to the poorest countries just before the loans are effectively written off. Then the vultures sue for ten times what they pay for the loans. We tracked down one of them in Virginia - Michael Francis Sheehan - also known as Goldfinger .

(inaudible video) …aren’t you just profiting of the good work of people. We’re trying to save lives by cutting the debt of these nations.

MICHAEL SHEEHAN: Well, there was a proposal for investment. That is all I can talk about.

GREG PALAST: Goldfinger paid just three million dollars for some old Zambian debt, but eventually sued Zambia for 55 million. Worldwide, Goldfinger and fellow “Vultures” are suing desperately poor people for more than two billion dollars. Our expose sparked an international reaction. The next morning, the News Night report was rebroadcast in America . .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.gregpalast.com/vultures-continue-to-pick-africa-clean/

[yourout]

1. Guys like Goldfinger make me proud to be an American....

NOT!!!!

Another name to add to the list of All-American assholes.

[bjobotts]

2. Can his greed make him sink any lower.

Here we have a reincarnated slave trader. Taking away the money that would keep women and children from starving and living in disease infested poverty for generations by bribing corrupt officials to default on loans so they can buy them up for pennies on the dollar and proceed to take all aid money and medicine money and natural resources resulting in the deaths of millions all in the name of profit and greed.
Mr. Sheehan is the lowest form of scum sucking bottom dwellers.
Bush could stop it all just by claiming it interferes with his foreign policy which it does because it's his foreign policy to give relief aid to begin with. But will he???
After all Mr. Sheehan is the largest donor to the Republican party in NY.
He just donated $10 million to Gulliani's campaign (which is illegal but he plans to "bundle" the donation in several small packs to mask his contribution as he greases the wheels)
The GOP shares this low life status by accepting money taken from poor, starving, sick and homeless citizens who are the targets of these "vulture bonds".
Calling it an investment opportunity is is like calling the slave trade just "human resources opportunities". These are the slime profiteering on the Iraq war also. Human life means nothing to them. Absolutely nothing.