Vulture Funds press for contempt charges against Argentina

A poster in Buenos Aires rallying against the Vulture Funds. (Photo: EFE)

Judge Thomas Griesa will hold a hearing to decide whether to find the country in contempt for passing a law to allow bondholders to swap their bonds into local Argentine law bonds to avoid paying a small group of vulture funds $1.6 billion.

Argentina must submit explanations to the judge to explain why he should not declare the country in contempt.

The vulture fund organizations, led by Elliott and Aurelius asked the judge to impose a fine of $50,000 a day for their supposed violation. This request has already been rejected twice by Griesa, but today's hearing will be the first convened especially to address this issue.

At the same time as the hearing, Argentina will start the formal steps to make the interest payments to the renegotiated funds that are due on Tuesday through Argentine banks, allowing the payments to be made without the blocking made by Griesa.

This move is the first after the Congress passed the Sovereign Debt Payment law which bypasses the Bank of New York Mellon as the trustee agent.

The government senator Aníbal Fernández said that he warns Griesa against making “foolish decisions” in favor of a “group of miscreants.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been previously held in contempt of court in the United States, but the precedent does not allow a court to seize assets without the help of the State Department.

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