Burford files ICSID arbitration against Argentina over YPF

Litigation fund Burford Capital has launched a new legal offensive against Argentina over the 2012 expropriation of YPF, filing a case before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on 16 September 2026. The tribunal belongs to the World Bank Group and is based in Washington.

The arbitration process could take between five and ten years. It begins with a 90-day phase to constitute the arbitral tribunal, after which the parties will set the procedural calendar under strict confidentiality rules. Argentina has lost 85% of its past disputes at ICSID, including claims stemming from the expropriation of Aerolíneas Argentinas for breaching a bilateral investment treaty with Spain.

The move follows a March ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, which overturned a judgment by Judge Loretta Preska that had ordered Argentina to pay $16.1 billion plus interest. The country had already paid $5 billion plus interest in bonds to Repsol in 2014 for the 51% expropriated stake in YPF.

Argentina's Treasury Attorney General's Office stated it was already preparing for this expected step and will defend the country with the same firmness shown in court. Burford is also evaluating a petition to the US Supreme Court, where it would need four of nine justices to accept review, though the top court accepts only about 100 of the 7,000 to 8,000 petitions filed annually.