They’d rather walk the plank than contribute to this pirate’s booty.
A Ghana court yesterday was told Argentina will not fork over $20 million to New York hedge-fund honcho Paul Singer to free up the three-masted tall ship the billionaire seized last week.
At a court hearing in the West African nation — where the Argentine naval vessel ARA Libertad was detained — a lawyer for the South American country argued that Singer had no right to hold the ship because it’s a military vessel and therefore protected by sovereign immunity, sources told The Post.
Lawyer Larry Otoo called the seizure — Singer’s latest effort to force payment of some $1.6 billion owed on defaulted bonds — an embarrassment to Ghana. He demanded the ship’s immediate release.
The court is expected to rule tomorrow on Otoo’s demand.
Singer, the head of Elliott Management, is seeking to recoup some of the $600 million in bonds he purchased as Argentina was headed for default in 2001.
Elliot bought the bonds at steep discounts, paying as little as 15 cents on the dollar, but has since won judgments of as much as $1.6 billion — which includes interest.
Elliot’s NML Capital unit quietly has been on a years’-long global quest for assets to satisfy his judgment. The seizure of the Libertad, which was carrying some 70 navy cadets, thrust the case onto an international stage.
NML lawyer Ace Ankomah argued yesterday that Argentina explicitly waived any immunity when it issued the bonds and therefore cannot hide behind its sovereign status.
Last week, NML persuaded a court in Ghana to hold the ship as it docked in the port city of Tema, near Ghana’s capital of Accra.
Ankomah has since told Argentina’s lawyers it would accept $20 million in exchange for the ship, a person with the knowledge of the talks told The Post.
The ARA Libertad is estimated to be worth $10 million.