SANTO DOMINGO.- The company Tricom S.A., Dominican Republic’s second largest telecom services providers, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New York city court on Friday, February 29, according to the online publication Bloomberg.com.

After repeated calls by Dominican Today to Tricom’s main offices in the Dominican capital, Lisa Arzeno, its Corporate Relations director, said the company would issue a statement in response to the report.

Bloomberg. com said the Tricom SA filing for Chapter 11, “will ultimately reveal whether a U.S. Bankruptcy Court has the theoretical and practical ability to put a financial reorganization in place that will be respected and enforced not only in the U.S. but also in the home country, in this case the Dominican Republic.”

It said the Dominican telecommunications provider filed a Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

“Tricom, which hasn’t paid interest on its $200 million in 11.375 percent senior unsecured notes since 2003, listed assets of $328 million and debt totaling $765 million,” said the online publication based in New York.

It adds that Tricom’s debt, according to the documents filed in court, “includes $413 million for borrowed money referred to in the pleadings as financial claims,” and also owes $223 million in unpaid interest on financial claims.

Tricom’s woes began in late 2003 when the bank Bancredito, then property of the Pellerano family headed by Manuel Arturo Pellerano, announced its sale to the Grupo Leon to save it from failure. Pellerano still faces a court case, accused of fraud and breach of confidence.