Economy & Business - August 2025

In 2012, Argentina’s government led by former president Cristina Fernández (2007-2015) regained state control of energy company YPF, arguing it was being ransacked by its then majority owner, Spain’s Repsol. From Fernández’s point of view, she was righting an historic wrong. After all, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales was founded in 1922 as the first state-owned oil company outside of the Soviet Union and was meant to be in public hands. But 13 years later, Argentina is still facing the legal fallout from her decision – a lawsuit alleging that minority shareholders had been defrauded at the time to the staggering tune of US$16bn, more than three times what Kirchner paid to recover the oil and gas company.