More than 20 years after Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) defaulted on loans from Citibank NA and other banks, a U.S. judge has ordered the poverty-stricken nation to pay a combined $69 million to two hedge funds that snatched up the country’s debt. The ruling follows a bench trial earlier this year in which attorneys at Dechert and DLA Piper argued over Congolese law and the DRC’s turbulent political history.
In a 58-page decision, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan ruled that the DRC must pay $38.7 million to Themis Capital and $30.8 million to Des Moines Investments. About $50 million of that $69 million is interest that’s accrued since the DRC defaulted on the underlying debt in 1990.
