The holdout hedge fund Elliott Management Corp representative emerged on Friday from five hours of meetings in New York with a court-appointed mediator, claiming the Argentine government still refuses to have negotiation years after its historic default.
Argentine officials and holdout investors met separately with the New York court-appointed mediator or 'Special Master' for five hours on Friday, presenting their cases in hopes of resolving a litigation on defaulted bonds that has dragged on for years.
Holders of restructured Argentine bonds took to Belgian courts against Euroclear and the Bank of New York last week over their failure to pay out Argentina’s deposit, newspaper Tiempo Argentino (*) reported, citing court documents signed by the funds’ legal counsel.
The Bank of New York Mellon, fearful of being sued by Argentine bondholders and unwilling to defy a court order blocking their coupon payments, is seeking guidance from U.S. Judge Thomas Griesa on what to do with the money.
The economist famous for predicting the 2008 financial crisis has analyzed Argentina’s current dispute against vulture funds warning “holdouts must not be permitted to block orderly restructurings that benefit debtors and creditors.”
Vulture funds are not interested in negotiations, and all they want is to get hold of the money for re-structured bonds holders, said Argentina's Ministry of Economy in a release made public late Tuesday, the last exchange on the ongoing battle in a New York court with holdout hedge funds.
Through an official press release published on Friday afternoon, the Argentine government stated US Federal Judge, Thomas Griesa, attempted to “block the payment for bondholders,” and committed an abuse of authority, after cancelling the deposit made on Thursday into a Bank of New York account.
Argentina announced on Thursday morning it had deposited a billion dollars to honor restructured bonds' 30 June payment and at the same again asked for a new stay from New York Judge Thomas Griesa on the 'pari passu' ruling that forces the country to also pay holdouts 100% of defaulted bonds face value.
“We are representing a government, and governments will not be told to do things that fundamentally violate their principles” lawyer Jonathan Blackman told the Manhattan US appeals court.
Argentina asked a US judge late Friday night to maintain his order blocking payment on defaulted sovereign bonds to holdout investors until lingering questions are settled in a higher court's appeals process.