Its about bloody time something was done

[Grumpmeister]

Normally I'd be the last person to agree with Brown about anything but the practice of 'vulture funds' is little more than corproate extortion. buying up the debt of a third world country at a discounted rate and immediately taking that country to court to  recover the full amount is a damning indication of the people's greed. Granted this is only a minor step by the world bank but hopefully it is the first on the way towards making such practices illegal across the globe.

The World Bank has said it will boost its efforts to reduce the commercial debts of poor countries, which are preyed on by so-called "vulture funds".
To do this, the Bank said it will now extend the life of its debt reduction facility, which helps countries buy back their commercial debts.

Vulture Funds buy up a poor nation's debt at knockdown prices, before going to court to recover the full amount.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown has branded such schemes "morally outrageous".

'Penalising the poor'

Danny Leipziger, the World Bank's vice president for poverty reduction and economic management, said that extending the life of its grant-based debt reduction facility would help curb the increasing litigation against poor countries by vulture funds.

"The spate of litigation by vulture funds against countries receiving debt relief will penalise some of the world's poorest countries unless we tackle this aspect of commercial debt more actively," he said.

The Bank estimates that more than one-third of the countries which have qualified for its debt relief have been targeted with lawsuits by at least 38 litigating creditors, with judgments totalling $1bn (?505m) awarded in 26 of these cases.

Zambia is one recent case after it agreed last month to pay $15.5m to a British Virgin Isles-registered firm to settle a case at London's High Court.

The company in question - Donegal International - had taken the country to court seeking payment of a debt and late payment penalties.

[Snoopy]

We have debated this in "Another Place" (from which I am now barred) but it happens to individuals in the UK too. Banks are selling their bad debts onto other companies, claiming VAT rebates and other tax reliefs for their losses and the new "owners" of the debt are aggressively chasing people through the courts to get the full amount originally owing back ~ even to the extent of trying to gain and in a few cases winning possession of people's homes.
I had a claim made against me by American Express which I disputed. They would not discuss it with me and promptly sold the "debt" to a "recovery company" who tried to frighten me with threats of court action. When I told them to p*ss off they sold the "debt" on again. This happened 6 times over three years. None would actually take me to court, as I defied them to do, as the "debt" was only ?96 but I amassed an arch lever file full of letters from them all. Complaints to the Financial "Watchdogs" did no good and they just kept on selling my details from one company to another. In the end I got hold of the latest company's MD on the 'phone and told him I would give him ?5 in full and final settlement as I figured that would about cover his costs. He accepted.  I obtained a letter confirming that the "debt" was settled and sent a copy to the Credit Reference companies for inclusion in my file, which by  now must be a mile thick. Fortunately I foresee no need for credit in the future.   
My message to Gordon Brown would be ~ stop worrying about other countries and put your own in order first. Charity begins at home. Sort out the UK and then, if we can afford it, help the others.