The Slovak financial institution Poštová Banka and its shareholder Istrokapitál SE have filed a legal complaint at the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against Greece over the forced Greek sovereign bond exchange that took place in March 2012, the TASR newswire reported on Tuesday, May 7. It is though to be the first legal complaint against Greece filed at the ICSID.
"Greece adopted a measure which caused a violation of international agreements, due to which we lost the value of our investment. It's our obligation to protect our investments and to fight for our rights," said Poštová Banka general director Marek Tarda. Poštová Banka's losses caused by the Greek debt write-off have been covered by Istrokapitál.
Greece adopted internal legislation that unilaterally amended the issuance conditions of sovereign bonds. No other country has adopted such measures in connection with its own debt restructuring, the Poštová Banka press release states. Poštová Banka and Istrokapitál claim that such a move represents a violation of Greece's obligations resulting from bilateral investment agreements, which guarantee fair and equal treatment of investors. The Slovak plaintiff is represented by US international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP as well as Prague-based lawyers from Havel, Holásek & Partners.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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