Greg Palast on the Battle to End Vulture Funds-Democracy Now! today:

[babylonsister]

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/11/143...

Greg Palast on the Battle to End Vulture Funds

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.”