$3 Billion in Bonds to Pay Victims’ Kin

Argentina will issue $3 billion in bonds to compensate relatives of those slain or missing in the wake of the 1976-83 military dictatorship. The government is planning to compensate about 15,000 claimants with bonds next year under the terms of a 1994 law, an Economy Ministry official said. The law called for families to receive $200,000 each. Instead the government opted to issue bonds at a face value of $200,000 each and leave bond markets to decide their value when the relatives trade the bonds for cash. Since the value of the bonds will be set on the open market, the claimants may receive more or less than face value.