Singer hires Albright’s firm to help him in Argentina

Paul Singer has picked up some major political muscle to press his case in the long-running debt battle with Argentina.

The billionaire hedge-fund mogul has hired the consulting firm of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to lobby for him in the South American country, The Post has learned.

Carlos Gutierrez, Albright’s co-chair and a former US Commerce Secretary, has been in Argentina trying to mobilize opposition to the government, sources said.

President Cristina Kirchner has rallied the country around her fight with Singer and other “vultures” that demand to be paid in full. The cry intensified after the country defaulted on July 30 on some $15 billion in debt rather than pay Singer.

Last week, Kirchner sent a bill to Congress to skirt the US court order mandating Argentina pay Singer and other so-called holdout investors at the same time it makes payments to those who agreed to swap their bonds and take a 70 percent haircut.

The bill would allow those bondholders who haven’t been getting paid to swap into local law bonds that wouldn’t be subject to the US court order.

Already opponents of the bill have been accused of acting on behalf of foreign interests. On Monday, Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich also hinted Singer is behind it, complaining he is “carrying out a political campaign.”