US bondholder sues Sri Lanka for defaulting on debt

by Sharmini
Jun 24, 2022

Hamilton Reserve Bank has sued Sri Lanka for defaulting on its debt as the cash-strapped island faces it's worst economic crises in decades. 

The bondholder, filed a lawsuit earlier this week in a US federal court, seeking the full payment of the $250 million 

Last month, Sri Lanka officially defaulted on its international debt obligations after failing to make a payment of approximately US$78m during its 30-day grace period. 

In their lawsuit, the US bondholder said that the default is being “orchestrated by officials at the highest levels of government.”

“As a result, these favoured Sri Lankan parties stand to be paid principal and interest in full, while the Bonds -- which are also broadly held by US retirement systems including Fidelity Investments, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, Lord Abbett, JPMorgan, PIMCO, Neuberger Berman and other US investors -- remain indefinitely in default and unpaid, causing American retirees tremendous suffering from potentially massive losses of up to 80% of their original investment value,” lawyers for Hamilton Reserve reportedly said. 

The lawsuit comes just as the International Monetrary Fund (IMF) team landed in Colombo earlier this week to begin bailout talks. 

Read more here. 

 

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