GENEVA — Two investment firms have filed a criminal complaint with Swiss authorities on Thursday in hopes of recovering $3.2 billion from Argentina.
The two firms, EM Ltd. and NML Capital Ltd., both registered in the Cayman Islands, filed a complaint asking Swiss prosecutors to lift the legal immunity of an international banking institution to get at funds deposited there by Argentina.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the case Thursday.
The firms were among creditors stung when Argentina defaulted on $95 billion in bonds in 2001. Their complaint alleges that Argentina "committed criminal offenses aimed at evading its creditors, and have engaged in laundering of the proceeds" with the help of the Basel, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements.
The BIS, as it is known, was created in 1930 to process Germany's reparation payments after World War I. It has since evolved into a coordinator, research institution and banker for the world's central banks and international organizations.
Some 4 percent of global foreign exchange reserves have been invested by central banks with the BIS. The bank didn't immediately comment.
Geneva lawyer Jean-Cedric Michel, who represents the two investment firms, said Thursday he expects the Swiss federal prosecutor's office to review the case and launch an investigation within weeks.
He said Argentina has $53 billion, or 99 percent of its liquid foreign reserves, in the BIS, compared with the 10-15 percent most other countries keep there.
"It's totally unusual," he said. "They want to shield it from their creditors, which is not the purpose of BIS, of course."
Michel also said it's also lucrative for BIS to manage those reserves.
Jeannette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors' office, said the criminal complaint was received on July 7 and is "being examined," but she could not provide no more details.
The two investment firms have been in court for years trying to recover money from Argentina. They have repeatedly accused Argentine officials of trying to dodge creditors by removing assets from the United States.
Argentina's government has argued that the central bank is an independent institution, not a state organ, so it cannot be raided by the country's creditors.
Some 80 percent of Argentina's debt holders agreed to a 2005 restructuring, but EM Ltd., NML Capital Ltd. and thousands of other investors chose not to participate, preferring to pursue a legal case against Argentina instead.
Their cause is aided by the American Task Force Argentina, an advocacy group that wants the U.S. government to arrange a settlement with Argentina on behalf of U.S. creditors. The group claims Argentina's default has cost global lenders and taxpayers more than $30 billion, and Argentina can afford to repay what it owes.
Its website also claims the Argentinian reserves are held in the Basel-based bank "to skirt debt repayment" and the Swiss government can "demonstrate that it is a good global citizen" by making it possible for creditors to get at the money.
Frank Jordans in Geneva contributed to this report.