Argentina announced Tuesday that it reached a $900 million preliminary accord to settle its pending debt with 50,000 Italian holders of defaulted Argentine government bonds. Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said that the agreement with Italian bondholders includes the Argentine government's acknowledgement of the debt and reasonable interest.
A Washington-based think-tank launched a website and award to honor the memory of late AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman yet its founders raised a few eyebrows as they include someone who has an ongoing court case and regularly spoken ill of Argentina.
US holders of defaulted Argentine bonds have stepped up their campaign for full repayment of their loans by detailing how 14 senior Argentine officials experienced “dramatic and often unexplained increases” in their personal wealth during service in the Kirchner administrations.
The US Department of State has backed the appointment of Nancy Soderberg as Chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), saying her “responsibilities” as public servant are “not linked” with Argentina’s dispute with the holdouts, Argentina's Telam news agency reported.
In a harsh letter, released on Friday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez urged US President Barack Obama to explain whether ”Nancy Soderberg, the person you have appointed as Chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB), which reports directly to the Government of the United States of America, is also the Co-Chair of the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), an entity specifically created to attack and slander the Argentine Republic and its President.”
The American Task Force (AFTA) sponsored by 'holdouts' NML in litigation with Argentina over sovereign bonds payment, revealed on Wednesday foreign accounts of Argentine public works contractor, believed to be involved with the Kirchner family businesses, Lazaro Baez, and showed a map with the money movement, allegedly committing the crime of money laundering.
Italian bondholders filed a complaint order to United States District Judge Thomas Griesa asking to be given the same benefits as Aurelius Management and NML Management, the “holdouts” that were authorized by Griesa to be paid the full debt Argentina has with them.
US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson has said the bilateral relationship with Argentina is going through a “difficult period”, but stated the legal battle between that country and holdouts is not a “political problem” but a “judicial problem.”
Angela Merkel’s administration attempted to lower tensions with the Argentine government on Thursday following controversial statements made by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble regarding the so called 'holdouts' or 'vulture funds' conflict.
Economy ministry Axel Kicillof once again defiantly insisted Argentina has made a required debt payment on restructured sovereign bonds on Friday night, just hours after a U.S. judge threatened a contempt-of-court order if Argentina did not stop issuing such statements.