MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

JP Morgan requests 'clarification' from Judge Griesa to pay Japanese bondholders

Judge Griesa apparently is resting in his ranch in Montana

JP Morgan bank, the entity responsible for the payment to Argentina's Japanese bondholders has sent a letter to US Federal Judge Thomas Griesa, requesting “a clarification” in order to deliver the funds to the nation's creditors.

Through this measure, JP Morgan requested a written explanation following the “unusual” ruling by Griesa, a resolution which prevents bondholders receiving the funds which have been transferred by the Argentine Government led by President Cristina Fernandez.

According to a document published by the official news agency Telam, on June 24 JP Morgan received a letter from the holdouts, where they expressed their position which appealed to keep the transferred funds immobilized, in order to prevent a violation of the ruling, dated back in 2012, adjusted to the ‘Pari Passu’ clause, and the amendment from November of that same year, which resolved favorably for the hedge funds, recognizing the 100 percent of the amount.

Tokyo’s JP Morgan received a transaction by the Argentine government through the Bank for International Settlements International Bank (BIS) account.

On July 3, the Argentine Central Bank transferred the sum of 212.7 million yen (about two million dollars).

In an almost unanimous voting and amid a fierce legal battle between Argentina and holdout hedge funds suing the country over its defaulted bonds, the Senate passed a bill seeking to provide legal immunity for assets held by foreign central banks in Buenos Aires.

The project was approved by 55 votes. Radical Party MP Eugenio “Nito” Artaza reportedly was the only one to leave the house to avoid voting.

The Kirchner-sponsored bill established that “foreign Central Banks or other foreign monetary authorities are immune to the jurisdiction of Argentine tribunals.”