New York Creditors Sue TV Azteca Over Suspicious $290 Million Offshore Loan
New York, Thursday, 11 June 2026.
US creditors accuse Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca of hiding assets and securing a suspicious $290 million offshore loan weeks before declaring bankruptcy, raising serious corporate governance concerns.
A Complex Web of Offshore Financing
On June 8, 2026, creditors led by The Bank of New York Mellon formally moved to expand their litigation in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [1][4]. The bondholders allege that TV Azteca, the Mexican broadcasting giant controlled by billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, engaged in deliberate asset concealment and fraudulent transfers [1]. At the center of the controversy is a $290 million loan negotiated with Alter Bank Limited, an offshore financial institution based in St. Lucia [1][2]. The timing and execution of this financial arrangement have drawn intense scrutiny from international investors [GPT].
Asset Stripping and Soaring Domestic Debt
Beyond the controversial offshore loan, the creditors’ amended complaint accuses TV Azteca of systematically stripping value from its core business. According to the filings, the broadcaster transferred its most valuable asset—its government-issued broadcasting concessions—to a subsidiary named Televisión Azteca III (TVA III) [2][4]. Because this subsidiary, created in 2019, does not serve as a guarantor for the original bondholders, the transfer effectively places the company’s primary revenue-generating assets out of the creditors’ reach [1][2][4]. This maneuver severely limits the available asset pool for financial recovery [4].
The Battle for Priority and Governance
The roots of this transatlantic legal dispute trace back to a $400 million bond issuance in 2017, with The Bank of New York Mellon acting as trustee [1][4]. TV Azteca initially halted payments on these bonds in 2020, citing financial difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. The defaulted debt owed to New York bondholders eventually grew to $630 million by 2021 [2]. However, creditors argue that the broadcaster’s financial distress was compounded by poor corporate governance, alleging that TV Azteca had been breaching its leverage thresholds since at least 2019 and secretly doubled its debt burden in the year leading up to its bankruptcy filing [4].
Imminent Deadlines in a Dual-Front Legal War
The legal strategy of the creditors is now advancing simultaneously in Miami and New York. On June 2, 2026, creditors filed a lawsuit in a Miami federal court seeking to depose six Florida-based executives of Alter Bank to uncover the true nature of the $290 million loan, which is scheduled to mature in July 2026 [2]. Time is of the essence, as the Mexican bankruptcy process is fast approaching its critical conciliation phase, where a restructuring agreement must be finalized [2].