Puerto Rico Spent $2 Billion on Bankruptcy Consultants, Lawyers

Fees and expenses related to restructuring Puerto Rico’s public debt have surpassed $2 billion, cementing the island’s status as the most expensive municipal bankruptcy in US history.

A report by Puerto Rican think-tank Espacios Abiertos found that costs for consultants, lawyers, fee examiners and others have increased 35% since June 2024 and far exceeded the $370 million that the Congressional Budget Office had estimated it would cost in 2016.

When the US territory of 3.2 million people went into bankruptcy in 2017, the government and its agencies had some $74 billion in debt. Since then, it has restructured more than ...