MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina denies as 'inexact' any embargo on embassy bank funds in Belgium

Axel Kicillof's ministry was responsible for the release

The Argentine government in a late release on Thursday strongly denied an 'inexact information' related to alleged embargos by speculative funds (or vulture funds) on bank accounts from the Argentine embassy and its staff, in Belgium, and said that the attempts to freeze 'embassy funds' are but a new extortion attempt and a clear procedure abuse which could be sanctioned by Belgian tribunals.

 The release from the Economy ministry points out that there has been 'no embargo' (on Argentine embassy or its staff bank accounts) following orders from Belgian prosecutors or judicial staff.

Rather on the contrary the 'vulture funds' are again trying to extort Argentina by contracting a Judicial officer (a private activity in Belgium) with the purpose of freezing certain embassy assets to cover the sum of 284.2 million dollars.

Argentina is aware of this action through a copy of the document sent to the bank, but has received no official notification from the Belgian Foreign ministry or Justice system regarding the freezing of 52.001,12 Euros included in the action.

The plaintiffs attempts on diplomatic accounts in Belgium have already failed in previous occasions. In effect Belgium's Cassation Court (highest in the land) rejected 'vulture funds' pretension when it ruled diplomatic assets, such as bank accounts from an embassy, have a specific immunity under International Law.

“Thus the bank accounts from the Argentine embassy in Belgium and Mission before the European Union can't be in no case object of a preventive embargo”.

Nevertheless and despite the fact that no Judge or Prosecutor has participated in this action, Argentina is preparing the pertinent measures to ensure the litigants cease their abusive conduct.

“The maneuvers by the 'vulture funds' with the purpose of freezing certain Embassy and Argentine Mission funds are not but another extortion attempt and a clear procedure abuse which can be sanctioned by the Belgian courts”, concludes the report.

Earlier in the day from New York, allegedly NML Capital investment fund denounced that Argentina systematically rejects negotiations with holdout investors of their national defaulted debt, and threatened to attach assets from Argentina wherever they can find them.

“In an absence of a negotiated settlement, our recourse includes locating and attaching Argentine assets where we can find them,” NML said in a press release.

The hedge fund did not enter Argentine debt renegotiations in 2005 and 2010 and claims full payment on Argentine defaulted bonds. Last year, New York district Judge Thomas Griesa ruled in favor of NML and other investment funds.

The Argentine government has offered these holdout funds to enter debt negotiations in the same conditions as the 2005 and 2010 restructurings, as more than 90% of bondholders did.