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.”
Following Argentina's agreement to resolve its 9.7bn debt to Paris Club member nations within five years, American Task Force Argentina co-chairs Robert Shapiro and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg have declared their support for Argentina's pledge to act responsibly and encouraged the Argentine government to go further.