Sunday, August 16, 2015
Kicillof: Judge Griesa cannot halt Bonar 24 payments
Economy minister Axel Kicillof has insisted that New York district judge Thomas Griesa has no power over bonds issued earlier this year, playing down fears the magistrate could interrupt payment to creditors.
The Bonar 24 titles were issued under Argentine jurisdiction and law, which according to the minister means Griesa would be exceeding his authority in trying to stop payments as was done on other bonds emitted under New York law by request of holdout investors.
NML Capital, owned by billionaire investor Paul Singer, had asked Griesa to sanction Bonar 24 buyers in an attempt to hamstring Argentine attempts to capture funds without paying the vulture funds for titles defaulted on in the 2001 crisis. The Bonar 24 attracted investments of 1.8 billion dollars for the nation.
"The Bonar 24 is a bond issued to pay Repsol's compensation and it is not related to debt restructuring, nor with those who entered the swap nor with the holdouts," Kicillof affirmed in an interview with Tiempo Argentino.
"If Griesa is going to grant himself the right to intercept any payment of any bond, this madness will spiral out of control. I do not think that will work."
The minister, who is also a Victory Front candidate for lawmaker in the upcoming elections, went on to fiercely criticise the judge while warning about the risks that such judgements could imply for the country.
"If Argentina cannot pay a service without paying the vultures first, in an extreme case Griesa could say the country cannot pay state salaries without first paying the vultures," he said.
"The North American justice system's interpretation of pari passu is fairly ridiculous but it clearly does not mean that with any bond we have to pay the vultures first."
Kicillof explained the counter-measures Argentina would take to avoid any possible action by the judge, predicting that he would attempt to pressure financial services which handled payment as a means of halting funds.
"I think that to try and block payment, Griesa has sought to act against the banks which share out the funds once Argentina has paid as he did with Bony and Citibank," he stated.
"But in the case of the 24 or other bonds, I cannot see how he can act against those banks."
The Bonar 24 titles were issued under Argentine jurisdiction and law, which according to the minister means Griesa would be exceeding his authority in trying to stop payments as was done on other bonds emitted under New York law by request of holdout investors.
NML Capital, owned by billionaire investor Paul Singer, had asked Griesa to sanction Bonar 24 buyers in an attempt to hamstring Argentine attempts to capture funds without paying the vulture funds for titles defaulted on in the 2001 crisis. The Bonar 24 attracted investments of 1.8 billion dollars for the nation.
"The Bonar 24 is a bond issued to pay Repsol's compensation and it is not related to debt restructuring, nor with those who entered the swap nor with the holdouts," Kicillof affirmed in an interview with Tiempo Argentino.
"If Griesa is going to grant himself the right to intercept any payment of any bond, this madness will spiral out of control. I do not think that will work."
The minister, who is also a Victory Front candidate for lawmaker in the upcoming elections, went on to fiercely criticise the judge while warning about the risks that such judgements could imply for the country.
"If Argentina cannot pay a service without paying the vultures first, in an extreme case Griesa could say the country cannot pay state salaries without first paying the vultures," he said.
"The North American justice system's interpretation of pari passu is fairly ridiculous but it clearly does not mean that with any bond we have to pay the vultures first."
Kicillof explained the counter-measures Argentina would take to avoid any possible action by the judge, predicting that he would attempt to pressure financial services which handled payment as a means of halting funds.
"I think that to try and block payment, Griesa has sought to act against the banks which share out the funds once Argentina has paid as he did with Bony and Citibank," he stated.
"But in the case of the 24 or other bonds, I cannot see how he can act against those banks."
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