According to the ruling of the District Court of Columbia, the investment fund Titan Consortium sued the Argentine Republic for the execution of a award arbitration issued by a Tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)The Argentine State attempted to dismiss the claim on the grounds that it exceeded the three-year statute of limitations, and therefore claimed that it was an “untimely” claim.
However, the background Titan He opposed the Argentine position stating that “the The applicable limitation period is twelve years.pursuant to DC Code 15-101, which governs the enforcement of judgments issued by the courts of the District of Columbia.”
The ruling states that, based on these opposing positions and, After reviewing “the small set of viable options,” the Court concluded that “the statute of limitations is twelve years and, therefore, Titan’s claim is timely.” “Therefore, the Court denies Argentina’s motion to dismiss,” it noted.
New setback in the US for the State due to the expropriation of Aerolíneas Argentinas
The presentation of Titan It is a consequence of the nationalization of the company in 2008. Argentine Airlines, which at that time was in the hands of Marsans group, accused by the emptying of the company. Its former owner, the Spaniard Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, was convicted in Spain for the crimes of “misappropriation of assets, fraudulent bankruptcy, money laundering and membership in a criminal gang.”
The Spanish company went to the ICSID, World Bank tribunal, after the expropriation in 2008, which determined in 2019 that Argentina should pay US$340 million dollars for this forced operation. After receiving the favorable ruling, the rights of the litigation were transferred to the fund Burford Capital vulture, the same English law firm that is leading the trial for the expropriation of YPF, in 2012, which in turn transferred them to Titan Consortium, two years later.
After the handover between the investment funds, Titan He finally took the case to the arbitration court in Columbia, district to which Washington belongs. There, the Court ruled in his favor on Monday regarding the statute of limitations.
He ICSID It is an instance of arbitration, so cannot force compliance with the payment of sentencesso that the only way to collect what is intended is through the Justice.
The information was published by the regional director of the research and advisory firm Latam Advisors, Sebastian Maril, in your X network account.
Titan could ask to seize state assets, since Argentina has practically no seizable assets abroad, nor would it be feasible to confiscate the airline’s planes, because the lawsuit is against the state and not against the company.
The ICSID ruling on the expropriation of Aerolíneas Argentinas
At the end of May, the resolution of the failed of the ICSID in which it was determined that Argentina lost the multi-million dollar lawsuit over the expropriation of the company Aerolíneas Argentinas. At the time, it was reported that he would have to face the payment of US$320.7 million.
“Argentina’s request for annulment is rejected”the ICSID stated in its ruling. “Argentina shall bear all the costs of the proceedings and shall pay the claimants the sum of US$1,017,512 in representation costs; and all other claims are dismissed,” the judgment added.
The ruling nullified Argentina’s intention to annul the award that had already been issued by ICSID in 2017. At that time, the agency had determined that the country would have to pay US$320.7 million for the expropriation of Aerolíneas during the Kirchner government.
Source: Ambito
