对冲资金Sue The U.S. Government Over Puerto Rico Bonds

A group of hedge funds, including Oaktree Capital Management LP and Glendon Capital Management LP, has filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The hedge fund group are Puerto Rico bondholders who could suffer losses from bonds that were issued in 2008 to help the island’s retirement system, the Puerto Rico Employment Retirement System (ERS), stay afloat. Unfortunately, beginning in 2013, the ERS investments faltered, leading the pension system toward bankruptcy.

The hedge funds’ complaint comes after PROMESA, the federal oversight board that was appointed to help the island of Puerto Rico address its $73 billion of debt, placed the Commonwealth’s biggest public retirement fund under bankruptcy protection to help restructure $3 billion in pension obligation bonds (commonly called POBs).

ERS的债券可以由公共雇主对雇员退休的养老金捐款支付。对冲基金原告认为这些付款将首先交给他们。但是，在6月，联邦监督委员会批准了立法，将这些雇主的捐款转移到养老金制度之外，并远离这些债权人。现在，对冲基金希望法院命令确定这一举动是非法的。他们正在寻求31亿美元的本金以及ERS债券的利息。

Other Puerto Rico Bondholders Continue to Fight for Repayment
The hedge fund plaintiffs in the securities lawsuit against the federal government are not the only ones wanting repayment on their bonds. Earlier this week in Puerto Rico, federal judge Laura Taylor Swain approved an agreement between a group of ERS bondholders and the Commonwealth’s government. Under the deal, the island agreed to put aside more than $90 million over the next 3 ½ months and pay about $14 million a month in interest payments through October, as well as fulfill a debt payment that was due on July 1.

尽管所有这些争吵都在发生，但持有波多黎各一般义务债券（GO债券）的对冲基金仍在试图在其他波多黎各债务的所有者面前获得报酬。在法院文件中，这些对冲基金最近披露了他们分别拥有多少证券。bob200体育他们坚持认为其证券是由该领土宪法保证的。bob200体育

According toBloomberg, here are the amount of GO bonds owed by the hedge funds:

· Aurelius Capital Management LP holds $470.9 million of GO bonds
· Stone Lion LP holds $310 million of GO bonds
· Autonomy Capital LP holds $937.6 million of GO bonds
· Senator Investment Group holds $254.7 million of GO bonds
·FCO Advisors LP持有4.22亿美元的GO债券
· Monarch Alternative Capital LP holds $585 million of GO bonds
· Franklin Mutual Advisers LC owns $294 million of GO bonds

The hedge funds want the island’s sales tax revenue to go toward paying back the general obligation debt, instead of holders of other Puerto Rico debt, including those holding specific sales tax bonds (commonly called COFINA bonds) that were contractually guaranteed to be paid first.

波多黎各债券欺诈案件
Our Puerto Rico bond fraud lawyers and closed-end bond fraud attorneys are hard at work helping investors to try and recoup the investment losses they sustained when the island’s securities failed. Contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LLP today to schedule your free case consultation. We represent investors in Puerto Rico and on the mainland. If you believe that you may have grounds for a Puerto Rico securities fraud claim against UBS Puerto Rico (UBS-PR), Barclays (BARC), Banco Popular, Santander Securities (SAN), or another broker-dealer, contacts us today.

波多黎各的债券持有人对萨姆叔叔提起诉讼, The Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2017

Court green lights deal between Puerto Rico gov’t, Retirement System bondholders, Caribbean News, July 17, 2017

对冲资金Disclose Just How Many Puerto Rico Bonds They Own，彭博，2017年7月13日