Vulture funds and governments seek profit from Sudan debt relief
Today the Financial Times has reported that a group of vulture funds have hired lawyer Lee Buchheit to argue for debt relief for Sudan. They hope that if the North…
Dodgy deals
UK willing to back loans to Malaysian government for weapons
Proposal for Eurofighter exports takes no account of 1MDB scandal where Malaysian government guarantees were used to embezzle loans 1MDB loans were given under UK law – critics of Malaysian…
Campaigners call for transparency from Gambia’s lenders
• Comment on revelation that Gambia’s debt is $1 billion The Gambian government have said that former President Yahya Jammeh stole at least $50 million, and left the government with a…
Campaigners in Mozambique call for non-payment of hidden debts
A group of 26 organisations in Mozambique have asserted that the $1.86 billion of the country’s debts at the centre of a growing international controversy were contracted illegally and should…
Campaigners criticise Credit Suisse for helping to hide Mozambique loan
Over recent days it has come to light that Credit Suisse and VTB lent around $1.35 billion to Mozambique, but the government and the lenders hid this from any public…
Uganda road project cancelled but debt remains
In January the World Bank cancelled a road building project in Uganda after “multiple failures … on the part of the World Bank, the government of Uganda, and a government…
Proposal for UK aid money to be used to promote western exports
The UK’s Department for International Development is considering using aid money to subsidise lower interest rates for export credits for some low income countries. Export credits are government backed loans…
£139 million of ‘made-up money’ to count as UK aid
Debt deal with Cuba includes cancelling late interest calculated with huge 11% interest rate £139 million of ‘made-up money’ will count as UK aid and contribute towards meeting the UK…
UK backs loans for arms sales as report shows 75% of debt illegitimate
In a report released today, the UK government has revealed it guaranteed £132 million of loans to the Indonesian government for arms sales in the last year, along with further…
Aid rules tightened, but still allow profit to be made from loans
Western countries, through the OECD, have agreed new rules for themselves on when they are allowed to call loans ‘aid’. The new rules restrict the terms on which loans can…