A United States federal judge has ordered Argentina to sell its majority stake in the state-controlled oil firm YPF, escalating a long-standing international legal dispute. The ruling, issued by US District Judge Loretta Preska in New York, mandates that Argentina transfer its 51 percent stake in YPF to an intermediary, from where the shares will then be handed over to the plaintiffs to partially satisfy an outstanding sum of over $16 billion.

Argentine President Javier Milei swiftly condemned the decision, announcing an immediate appeal to defend national interests. Milei, currently focused on stabilizing Argentina's struggling economy, also pointed blame at Axel Kicillof, who served as economy minister under then-president Cristina Kirchner in 2012, the year YPF was renationalized.

The decade-long legal battle stems from Argentina's 2012 decision to renationalize YPF, taking it back from Spanish energy giant Repsol. While Repsol reached a compensation agreement of approximately $5 billion with Argentina in 2014, two minority shareholders, Petersen Energia and Eton Park Capital, filed suit in 2015. They argued that they did not receive proper compensation as mandated by law when the company was renationalized.

Judge Preska had previously ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in September 2023, ordering Argentina to pay more than $16 billion. Specifically, the court ordered Argentina to pay $7.5 billion in damages and $6.85 billion in interest to Petersen Energia, along with approximately $1.7 billion in damages and interest to Eton Park Capital.

YPF, a century-old and iconic Argentine company employing over 22,000 people, was privatized in the 1990s before gradually falling under Repsol's control. Its renationalization in 2012 raised concerns at the time about the security of investments in Argentina, South America's third-largest economy. The latest ruling marks a significant development in the ongoing saga, with Argentina committed to fighting the order in higher courts.