Argentina defies US court in debt dispute
Government deposits $170m in local bank to meet interest payments, in move designed to bypass jurisdiction of US courts.
Published On 1 Oct 2014
Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner has had strong words regarding the ongoing dispute with the United States over how and where her country should pay its debts, depositing money in a local bank in defiance of a US court.
A US court ruling previously blocked Argentina from making $539m in interest payments to the majority of bondholders until a deal with hedge fund creditors was reached.
Keep reading
list of 4 items‘We need you’: Solomon Islands’ support for US agency’s return revealed
Why are nations racing to buy weapons?
Parallel economy: How Russia is defying the West’s boycott
The hedge funds reject the restructuring accepted by 93 percent of bondholders and are demanding a full payout of $1.5bn on bonds they hold.
Kirchner had long refused to negotiate with the hedge funds, calling them “vultures” for picking on the carcass of the country’s record $100bn default in 2001.
The government has meanwhile deposited $170m in a local bank to meet interest payments, a move designed to bypass the jurisdiction of US courts.
Al Jazeera’s Daniel Schweimler reports from Buenos Aires.
Source: Al Jazeera