Argentina sued in NY over seizure of oil firm

Argentina has been sued in a US district court in New York in connection with its expropriation of oil giant YPF in 2012, according to court documents.
The plaintiffs are two Spanish firms, and they are represented by a US law firm Burford Capital.
The oil firm was owned by the Spanish giant Repsol until Argentina expropriated 51 percent of the shares in 2012.
This particular case goes back to 2008, when the Argentine group Eskenazi created two companies in Spain -- Petersen Energia and Petersen Energia Inversora -- to buy a large package of shares in YPF, which then was still owned by Repsol.

When the expropriation took place, those two companies were no longer able to pay off debts, and creditors ended up with their shares in YPF.
The two Spanish firms are now in the process of liquidation.

They filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012, and a unit of Burford, Prospect Investments, won the rights to initiate legal proceedings.
In the 30-page suit filed Tuesday the Spanish firms are seeking unspecified damages from Agentina and YPF.
In 2014, Argentina paid Repsol more than $6 billion for the expropriation.
The Petersen Group owned a 25 percent stake in YPF when it was owned by Repsol.