The Court of Appeal has granted Argentina permission to appeal a lawsuit brought by four hedge funds – Palladian Partners, HBK Master Fund, Hirsh Group and Virtual Emerald International, which left the country facing a potential €1.56bn bill, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites Argentina’s lawyers as confirming that permission was granted earlier this month, but only on condition that the beleaguered South American country pay around €310m in escrow pending the outcome of the case.
The court decision is a boost for the South American republic, whose economy is already buckling under high debt loads, inflation running at over 200% and a myriad capital controls to protect the peso.
According to lawyer Tamara Oppenheimer though, the escrow condition would cause “irremediable harm” to the Argentinian population, with the country already struggling with high debt and inflation running at over 200%, and has requested that the Court allow the appeal to proceed without payment.
The lawsuit relates to payments due on euro-denominated securities linked to the country’s gross domestic product, of which the four hedge funds hold around 48%.
