Argentina's social security arm appeals to US court

By Grant McCool

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Argentina's social security administration on Thursday appealed a U.S. judge's orders freezing the South American country's pensions fund investments in the United States.

District Judge Thomas Griesa of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan last Friday extended a freeze he first imposed on Oct. 29 at the request of bondholders to satisfy prior judgment against Argentina on behalf of holders of its defaulted sovereign debt.

"We are looking to the court of appeals to review the various restraints on expedition," said New York lawyer Marco Schnabl, who represents the Administracion Nacional de Seguridad Social (ANSES).

"We are not a party to the litigation. We were dragged into this when restraints were imposed on us," Schnabl said. "The plaintiffs have argued that this is a permissable thing to do, but we do not believe it is permissable. We hope the court of appeals will referee between these two positions."

The filing was made to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the same day Argentine senators were expected to approve a state takeover of $24 billion in private pension fund assets.

The government plan has raised investors' concerns about the country's ability to pay its debts.

ANSES lawyer Schnabl argued that the judge's rulings in favour of hedge fund Aurelius Partners, and other funds who have sought repayment on the government's defaulted debt, go against protections under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Any hearing on the arguments is at the discretion of the appeals court.

The bondholders sued Argentina after refusing to accept huge losses in the country's 2005 debt restructuring, three years after the biggest sovereign debt default in history.

Argentina defaulted in 2002 on some $100 billion in sovereign debt at the height of an economic and political crisis, but about a quarter of its creditors, so-called "holdouts," rejected the deal. (Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)