U.S. court holds Argentina in contempt over bond payment plan

By Joseph Ax and Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Argentina is in contempt of court, a U.S. judge ruled on Monday, the latest step in a years-old case brought by the U.S. hedge funds over defaulted debt. U.S. Judge Thomas Griesa in New York held off on any decision on fines or sanctions against the South American country, which in July fell into its second sovereign default in 12 years and has long been at odds with Griesa's decisions and adopted a law aimed at evading them. "The problem is that the Republic of Argentina has been and is now taking steps in an attempt to evade critical parts of the injunction," Griesa said during a hearing in his lower Manhattan courtroom. Argentina defaulted in 2002 and missed a bond coupon payment in late July after Griesa ruled it could not be made unless the country also paid more than $1.3 billion a group of U.S. funds that rejected previous bond restructurings and are demanding full repayment. Argentina said earlier on Monday that a contempt order from Griesa would violate international law. (Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Richard Lough in Buenos Aires; editing by Andrew Hay)