Attorneys asked Griesa to announce BCRA as the nation's “alter ego” and responsible for an outstanding debt payment of 2.6 billion dollars.

Vulture funds: Griesa rules Argentine bank assets can be seized

Argentina''s Central Bank. (TÉLAM)

New York Judge Thomas Griesa has ruled against Argentina's request to dismiss a lawsuit over the Central Bank (BCRA), which if upheld could allow holdout creditors to seize assets belonging to the nation.

“Vulture funds” NML Capital Ltd. y EM Ltd. filed the suit over BCRA seeking to establish the entity as one and the same as the Argentine state. Attorneys asked Griesa to announce BCRA as the nation's “alter ego” and responsible for an outstanding debt payment of 2.6 billion dollars.

Griesa’s decision comes prior to a US Supreme Court hearing next Monday, when they decide whether they interfere with the central case between the vulture funds and the State.

Griesa reaffirmed during the Court hearing: “I believe the plaintiffs’ demand is legitimate as for certain purposes BCRA is the alter ego of the Republic”.

Official sources told Télam agency: "The decision is not going to affect the country's reserves", as the State had won the same case in the Court of Appeals in 2011 and 2012 who declared BCRA's assets "unseizable".

The Argentine representatives in the case plan to appeal the decision, which reverts a previous ruling dating back to 2005.