“Vulture Fund” Company Seeks
$40 Million Payment from Zambia
on $4 Million Debt
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
By Kavita Puri
Programme producer, BBC Newsnight
VULTURE FUNDS
Remember Make Poverty History that campaigned to cancel third world debt? And the lofty proclamations by politicians at the G8 in Gleneagles to reduce debt?
Tonight, we have a shocking investigation into vulture funds that make a mockery of these pledges. These companies buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply - when it is just about to be written off - and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest.
Tomorrow morning a high court judge in London will rule whether a vulture fund can extract more than $40 million from Zambia for a debt which it bought for just $3 million.
Investigative reporter Greg Palast has tracked down the man who represents the company, and you couldn't make it up, he calls himself Goldfinger.
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