Debt Advisory International (DAI) manages a number of vulture funds which buy up the debts of highly indebted poor countries cheaply and then sue for the original value of the debt plus interest.
Newsnight went to New York to try to interview Paul Singer - the reclusive billionaire who virtually invented vulture funds. In 1996 his company they paid $11m for some discounted Peruvian debt and then threatened to bankrupt the country unless they paid $58m. They got their $58m.
Now they're suing Congo Brazzaville for $400m for a debt they bought for $10m.
The vulture funds raise most of their money through legal actions in US courts. Debt Advisory International are very generous to their lobbyists in Washington. Paul Singer has more direct political connections. He was the biggest donor to George Bush and the Republican cause in New York City - giving $1.7m since Bush started his first presidential campaign.
[BBC Newsnight]
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