Vulture funds sue Liberia for £12 million

Vulture funds are to sue Liberia for £12 million in the High Court in London.  I wrote before about the campaign against vulture funds.  They seek to make a profit from exploiting some of the poorest people in the world.  The amount claimed by the two companies is equal to half the annual education and health budget of the Liberian government.

As I wrote in a letter to my MP vulture funds are surely the unacceptable face of capitalism and need to be regulated.  (As I often find, my MP did not agree.) Campaigners are urging the government to take action against vulture funds, so that they cannot sue in UK courts.  The UK government has launched a consultation on the issue but has not yet taken action. Sally Keeble MP has tabled a motion to regulate the vulture funds and it has 203 signatures by 30 November 2009.  Check whether your MP has signed.   

Nick Dearden of the Jubilee Debt Campaign is quoted as saying: "This case is absolute proof that you can't tackle vultures by voluntary means. Currently these companies don't have to tell us anything about themselves because they're registered in tax havens – they can just turn up in London and sue one of the poorest countries in the world. We urgently need legislation to prevent these appalling companies profiting from poverty,"