A US judge ordered Argentina on Friday to pay some $5.2 billion to some 500 creditors seeking repayment on the same favorable terms given to other holders of the South American country's restructured debt.

In a 26-page ruling, US District Court Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that by refusing to make payment to some hedge fund and individual bondholders of its defaulted debt, while making payment to other creditors, Buenos Aires was in violation of an equal treatment provision in its contracts.