Argentina's Senate passed a bill aimed at circumventing U.S. court decisions regarding its defaulted debt by changing payment jurisdiction, sending the proposal to the lower house Chamber of Deputies for final approval.
So, the new bill has been already greenlighted by the Argentine Senate. The chamber, like the Senate, is controlled by government allies who are expected to vote the bill into law. Debate in the lower chamber is set to start next week. The Senate vote approving the measure was 39 “for” versus 27 “against”.
The proposed law, which says that foreign debt can be paid through intermediaries outside the United States, is the President’s attempt at getting back on a paying basis by putting government debt out of reach of U.S. courts that have jurisdiction over some of the original bond contracts.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in New York has banned Argentina from making interest payments on restructured debt until it settles with a group of hedge funds who rejected restructurings in 2005 and 2010 and are suing for full payment from the Argentine government.
