Nielsen's remarks came after the Buenos Aires business newspaper El Cronista quoted an internal IMF document recommending that Argentina should include non-defaulted local debt, the so-called Boden bonds, when it came to discuss any debt restructuring package. Boden bonds worth US$14.19m have been issued in exchange for bank deposits since the bond was introduced last year.
The economy ministry was quick to dismiss the report, issuing a statement saying, 'The Republic of Argentina reaffirms that the restructuring of public debt whose payments have been suspended, will only include debt issued before 31 December 2001.' Nielsen, however, was convinced that the report was more than mere media speculation, and he told the Buenos Aires stock exchange that 'a sector within the bureaucratic structure of the IMF is working through the press to sabotage the [lender's] relationship with Argentina.' He added that 'under normal circumstances the leak would have destroyed the capital markets.'
Although Nielsen did not mention anyone by name, the economy ministry accused what it calls the 'hardline wing' of the IMF of engineering the leak. Officials revealed yesterday that the group, which is thought to be led by the IMF's deputy director and US representative Anne Krueger, is keen to see Argentina punished further for defaulting on its debt.
As a result, the lender's hardline wing is thought to be against the three-year aid plan outlined by the IMF's managing director Horst Köhler when he was in Argentina late last month. Krueger & co are apparently concerned that if Buenos Aires were to reach a deal now, while the economy was on the up, it would appear to the world that Argentina had got one over on the IMF.
End of preview - This article contains approximately 322 words.
Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
Not a Subscriber?
Choose from one of the following options
