Campaigning against vulture funds
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Roger has tabled an Early Day Motion protesting the recent US Supreme Court ruling in favour of vulture funds. It reads:
That this House notes with concern the US Supreme Court's rejection of an appeal by Argentina against a ruling that it must repay in full creditors who purchased Argentinian debt at a discount on the secondary market, with the intention of extorting full payment; disagrees with the Court's decision to prioritise the greed of vulture funds over the Argentinian people's sovereignty and the country's ability to repay its legitimate creditors; observes that this case sets a worrying precedent and creates a disincentive for creditors to negotiate rather than demanding full payment; further notes that vulture funds have made sizeable donations to the Republican party and that Republican judges form a majority on the Supreme Court; expresses support for the people of Argentina, who should not be penalised in order to make hedge fund owners even more obscenely wealthy; supports the Argentinian government in prioritising the country's financial wellbeing over paying vulture funds; believes that it is unacceptable to purchase debt at the height of a debt crisis with the sole aim of profiting by suing the issuing country at the expense of its citizens; further expresses concern that if a similar case were to be heard in the UK courts, the same ruling in favour of vulture funds could be reached, unless the country concerned was one of the 40 covered by the Debt Relief Act 2010; and calls on the Government to bring forward the necessary legislative proposals to prevent this.
Commented Roger: "Why should the people of Argentina pay to make a small group of greedy billionaires even richer, at the expense of their country's finances and development?"
www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/133
