The sometimes secretive activities of those who make a business suing bankrupt governments of developing countries are rarely associated with campaigns for transparency and openness.

Development campaigners such as Oxfam and the Jubilee Debt Campaign inveigh against so-called “vulture funds” that buy up defaulted sovereign debt cheaply and use high-powered lawyers and novel legal avenues to sue for full repayment. But when the government in question is mired in allegations of mismanagement and corruption, the issues can become blurred.