U.S. court overturns ruling against Argentina over YPF expropriation
People gather outside the federal courthouse in New York City in July 2023, when Argentina was to learn how much it owed to investors after nationalizing gas and oil company YPF SA. The award has now been overturned by a U.S. appeals court. File Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA
March 27 (UPI) — Argentina’s government praised a U.S. court decision Friday that overturned a ruling ordering the country to pay more than $16.1 billion in a lawsuit tied to the 2012 expropriation of oil company YPF.
“We won the case,” President Javier Milei wrote on X, noting the amount at stake was comparable to key financial obligations, including recent loans from the International Monetary Fund.
According to a statement from the presidential office, the Court of Appeals for the Second U.S. Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision that had ordered Argentina to pay billions in damages over how the state renationalized the company.
“The court fully overturned the ruling against the Argentine state in what represents the best possible outcome, with less than a 15% probability of occurrence, and avoided an estimated payment of approximately $18 billion,” the statement said.
The case stems from Argentina’s 2012 expropriation of a 51% stake in YPF, which was owned by Spanish energy company Repsol, during the second presidential term of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The dispute arose because Argentina did not launch a tender offer to purchase shares held by minority investors, as required under the company’s bylaws.
Following that omission, litigation fund Burford Capital acquired the rights to pursue the claim and sued Argentina in New York, securing a record $16.1 billion judgment in 2023 that has now been overturned.
Argentina’s legal defense, maintained across multiple administrations, including those of Mauricio Macri, Alberto Fernández and Milei, argued that the appropriate jurisdiction for the case was Argentine courts, not U.S. tribunals, local newspaper Ámbito reported.
The country had also appealed a June 2025 order requiring it to transfer YPF shares as partial payment of the judgment. With the ruling now vacated, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit also nullified that order.
The removal of the ruling and its associated payment could improve Argentina’s country risk outlook, ease pressure on international reserves and send a positive signal to investors regarding international litigation, local outlet Perfil reported.
Burford Capital can petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review. If the court takes up an appeal, the final outcome could be moths or years away.