MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

ARA Libertad-Romney family link makes Cristina criticize the Republican candidate

Ann and Mitt Romney have money in the Elliot-NML group that impounded the Argentine frigate

Argentine President Cristina Fernández joined the US presidential campaign harshly criticizing Republican candidate Mitt Romney and stating she is “more alike” the current head of state, Democrat Barack Obama, who is running for re-election.

“We can see that the things a candidate says are like the ones that some say here about the social plans, that they are people who don't want to work,” Cristina Fernández said referring to Romney.

“Our way of thinking is similar to that of the current President” she continued, as she added: “Romney is more conservative, but obviously it’s up to the US people to decide”.

The Argentine president also complained that in the three debates between Romney and Obama, “Latinamerica had no relevant position in the discussions”.

Her position contrasts with that several weeks ago when she was asked about the US presidential election and declined saying she did not want to interfere in the internal affairs of another country.

The Argentine president made the statements following a ceremony at Government House to announce the construction of a gas pipeline, financed by the World Bank, and breaking with her self-imposed protocol accepted questions from Cordoba journalists, specially flown in for the event.

However there could be a reason for her outburst against Romney, since the US media confirmed that Ann Romney has over a million dollars invested with the Elliot funds managed by Paul Singer, who is the man behind the impounding of the Argentine frigate ARA Libertad which remains retained in Temma, Ghana and has become a major international embarrassment for the CFK administration.

“The Nation” also published that Paul Singer is an advisor and fund raiser for Mitt Romney and it was the Romney family that decided to invest in the ‘vulture fund’ as the Argentine government identifies it.

Although candidate Romney still has to make public his assets and tax report from 2009, The Nation said that Ann Romney confessed to have deposited at least a million dollars in Elliot Capital Management, which controls NML Capital that is demanding Argentina pays 370 million dollars (capital plus interests) in sovereign bonds.

The true sum of the Romney’s investment through in his “Blind Trust” is not known since US regulations don’t demand full disclosure of the investment, rather the minimum. The Nation estimates the Republican candidate couple must have 50 million in Singer’s funds.

“In her 2011 and 2012 financial statements Ann Romney confesses to have invested over a million dollars with Elliot Capital” says the US magazine which then refers that in 2010 Singer offered the Romneys at very low prices shares from Delphi, an auto-parts supplier of General Motors that went bust but was later rescued by the federal government.

If the Republican kept control of his ‘Blind Trust’ with an investment of a million dollars in Delphi he would have earned 10.2 million plus whatever he made on the at least one million deposited with Singer. “All these profits were possible following the rescue of the auto industry by the federal government” underlined the magazine.

Romney criticized the rescue of the US auto industry.

Singer is known for purchasing sovereign debt at rock bottom prices and then claims payment through the courts or lobbying. He was successful with Peruvian debt which he paid 11.4 million dollars but finally received 58m. The same with Congo: 20m became 90m.

In Argentina Singer’s funds purchased defaulted sovereign bonds but never accepted any of the trade-ins offered by Nestor and Cristina Kirchner administrations. Allegedly he holds 1.6bn dollars in such bonds and NML was claiming 370 million and impounded the Argentine navy frigate in Ghana. To release the vessel the fund was prepared to receive 20m dollars.

With funds that control 15 billion dollars, Singer has an extraordinary political and financial power plus lobbying capacity. Not to mention all the legal contacts in different countries of the world with which he is connected as was proven in Accra.

Elliot Capital has been deep in politics: it helped fund the two George W Bush campaigns in 2000 and 2004 and in 2008 former mayor Rudolph Giuliani received financial support for the Republican primary.