A US appeals court has temporarily halted efforts by investors to identify Argentina's assets in the United States as they seek to enforce a $16 billion judgment related to the 2012 nationalisation of YPF, the country's largest energy company.
The ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York blocks former shareholders Petersen Energía and Petersen Energía Inversora, backed by litigation funder Burford Capital, from obtaining evidence on the location of Argentine assets, including gold bars held by the central bank, until appeals are resolved.
Argentine President Javier Milei welcomed the decision as a “historic” and “unprecedented” move in Argentina's favour. However, analyst Sebastián Maril of Latam Advisors cautioned that the procedural pause does not guarantee the $16.1 billion judgment—now over $18 billion with interest—will be overturned.
The case stems from the government's 2012 seizure of a 51% controlling stake in YPF under former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In June, US District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Argentina to transfer its stake as partial compensation, but the appeals court put that order on hold in August.
Milei, who has pledged to privatise state-owned companies and is struggling to rebuild foreign reserves, has blamed the case on his political opponents. YPF, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has since boosted crude production from the Vaca Muerta shale field to nearly 600,000 barrels per day, about 68% of national output.
