According to the BBC, Vulture funds - as defined by the International Monetary Fund and Gordon Brown amongst others - are companies which buy up the debt of poor nations cheaply when it is about to be written off and then sue for the full value of the debt plus interest - which might be ten times what they paid for it.

This film by Greg Palast reporting to the BBC reveals how Congo Brazzaville and Zambia fell into the clutches of the vulture funds.

Part 1.

Part 2.