La Nacion Ruling against Argentina is upheld

La Nacion

Ruling against Argentina is upheld

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

By Silvia Pisani

WASHINGTON.- The American judiciary yesterday rejected Argentina’s arguments about a supposed violation of its “sovereign immunity” and allowed two banking entities to provide information about our country’s financial assets, based on a complaint from the so-called vulture funds.

The decision from the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of New York opens the door, in fact, to the identification of Argentine assets as part of the public attempts by the vulture funds to, once acknowledged, ask for their judicial attachment.

"We are certain there are Argentine assets” outside the country and the plaintiffs (the vulture funds) have a right to know about them, argued the ruling, convinced that this providing of information “does not violate” any sovereign immunity.

The New York court’s decision does nothing other than confirm the facts of a previous decision from Judge Thomas Griesa on a complaint from the fund NML-Elliot, which is one of Argentina’s main creditors.

At the time, the government of Cristina Kirchner had appealed that decision by believing that, with this measure, the judge was infringing on the country’s sovereignty. But yesterday the appeals court rejected that complaint and upheld Griesa’s findings.

Request

What is expected now is that a request will be made of the two financial entities cited in the complaint for them to inform on the presence of Argentine assets. The measure applies to Banco Nacion and Bank of America.

As part of the long saga that it has carried forth to collect the money it demands from Argentina, Elliot has initiated a survey of our country’s assets abroad for those which could be subject to judicial attachment complaints. It’s sights pointed both towards the accounts of officials – beginning with President Cristina Kirchner and several of her immediate advisors – as well as Argentine companies that have operations abroad. “The order means reporting on evidence (of assets) and not their attachment. For that one cannot say that this is affecting sovereign immunity,” the American court explained in its ruling.

It’s the second time in 30 days that the appeals court ratified decisions from Judge Griesa against the Argentine government. The first time came four weeks ago, when it ruled on an appeal around the payment of interest on the debt; now, on identification of Argentine assets abroad. At the time, sources within the Argentine government had labeled as “ridiculous” the pretense by the vulture funds to access that kind of information. The American judiciary, however, seems to have given its nod. Also, according to what was indicated to LA NACION yesterday, is that they have succeeded in their plans to use it as an escalation for making the attachments stick. Judge Griesa’s work has been criticized by Argentine officials, who accuse the American judge of “bowing to pressure” from the vulture funds.

It his campaign against these kinds of funds, Ambassador Jorge Arguello said that they made a “horrible deal” in rejecting the debt swaps offered by the government in order to pursue, in turn, total payment on the debt via the judicial route. “They will not get anything out of Argentina,” the diplomat said on repeated occasions, who is this afternoon in Buenos Aires to give a chat a the Argentine Center for Engineers, about “The X-Ray of the Vulture Funds: implications in bilateral relations.”

Ambito Financiero

Ruling for the vulture funds (unaffected)