YPF: US Court accelerated next scandal by the list of creditors

But, in addition, the government of Mauricio Macri, or whoever succeeds, will have to make an even more controversial decision: ask or not to the American judge Loreta Preska, apply the "Discovery" clause under which the country can claim the right to know who will pay the decision.

The final decision will be taken by the magistrate, who inherited the presidency that would eventually occupy Thomas Griesa, who will finally have the power to trigger or not a new scandal of corruption in Argentina.

The trial magistrate of the second southern district of New York, who will have in his possession the final resolution of the case that the Burford fund follows the country for the renationalization of YPF in 2012, could decide to open the total number shareholders plead against the country, before paying or rejecting the liquidation claimed by the plaintiffs, which could reach 3,000 million US dollars. This will happen if Preska activates the mechanism "Discovery process" under which it would be required that shareholders who hold shares in the dispute initiated by Burford Capital clear their identity before the court, before receiving the money.

If that were to happen, we would know who, with the surname and the first name, are the litigants against the country badociated with the Burford fund that orders the lawsuits. In this list, is suspected both in Buenos Aires and in New York court, the names that might appear would be surprising and could even include local players against the country, in an investment with a profit potential of millions of dollars and whose luck would depend on the resolution of Preska.

In times of speculation, one might even think that there might be in this list of old and former officials, both from the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from Mauricio Macri. Also entrepreneurs and businessmen in general. In any case, these are people who have tried to speculate that Burford would succeed in pursuing the case and that Argentina would inevitably lose it, with which the country would be sentenced to pay a sum of money. $ 39 million which would allow shareholders unprecedented profitability around the world. It would even exceed, in dollars, the accumulated peso inflation under the Macri government. A unique company in the world.

The decision of the New York judge will not be immediate and will depend on the pressure exerted (or not) by the Argentine Government when referring the case to the courts of first instance in New York.

The extent of this requirement will depend on Preska's own decision, which could be influenced by the vehemence that one of the parties may claim. For example, Argentina could ask the magistrate for a broad request to exercise his right to know who, with his name and surname, should be paid in the event of a final negative decision. At that time, it will be up to Preska to reduce the demand for information.

You can claim that the list is limited to the holders of shares at the time of execution of the eventual liquidation. This option would allow shareholders with a complex identity to get rid of their position this year as quickly as possible and not be included in the final list. Thus, his name would not be known, but they would not reach the end of the case with the maximum profit that Preska would end up condemning. Similarly, profitability would be extraordinary in dollars.

However, another possibility, it would be that Preska decides to open a more in-depth investigation and starts claiming data from the time YPF was privatized in the early 90s. It could also start here over time, starting from the renationalisation of 2012 and the way it was decided to leave out in the negotiations the shareholders who were left out of the payments settled by the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. That's all except Repsol, which held 51% of the shares. If Preska's decision is the last one, it does not matter if the complicated holders are eager to get rid of their holdings in the case, as they would also be exposed to listing. The definition will depend on the judge, but the lawyers representing Argentina could eventually submit briefs in order to ask the American justice for the identity of the people to whom they would pay.

The same thing happened with the lawsuit against vulture funds that ended in April 2016 under the government of Mauricio Macri. At the request of the Minister of Finance and Finance of the time, Alfonso Prat Gay, He asked Griesa to prepare a complete and detailed list of the parties for which the country would liquidate its badets for the trial opened after the fault of 2012.

LORETTA PRESKA.jpg

Loretta Preska

The cause comes from the appearance of the fund Burford Capital, a company specializing in low-cost purchases, has potential for international litigation. This fund has acquired for the Spanish justice part of the treatment of the bankruptcy that the companies Petersen Energía Inversora and Petersen Energía, two companies that the Eskenazy family created in this country but which, at the time of the reestablishment, had already left and whose the property had been floated in the Spanish courts. Then, once the package was bought at auction, he transferred his interests to New York. It is precisely the same court in which Argentina has pleaded against vulture funds: that of Thomas Griesa. Burford knew that the US judge would make room for the complaint, given the widespread mood that Griesa had in 2013 against the country because of the battle that Kirchnerism was leading in court for the lawsuit against vulture funds.

The case is based on Burford's badertion of how the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner nationalized the oil company without making a public offer (OPA), as contained in the law defined in 1993 to Carlos Menem. The country has committed to Wall Street, where the offer of the ADR of the oil company has been launched, so that any subsequent acquisition of part of the Argentine oil company would make a similar or greater offer for the total of remaining shares. . During the renationalisation, the government of Cristina de Kirchner did not give importance to this point. Neither Congress, which approved the purchase of only 51% of the shares.

Burford is not really an investment fund or directly a vulture fund like Elliott or Dart, but a sophisticated law firm based in London and listed on the Stock Exchange of that city. He devotes himself to buying judgments with great chances of success, but with a long delay in his resolution. The bottom line for the company lies in the fact that the acquisition of a cause is not done with equity, but with investors who trust their experience and bring a handful of capital in a lawsuit determined and in any market of the world. In addition to its headquarters in London and branches in several countries such as the United States and Singapore. Over time, shareholders who accompany a cause may in turn sell these papers or purchase a larger portion. They can also be listed as partners, initial owners of damaged actions and simply sell part of the global cause. Burford then manages the sale and purchase of these shares.

In the case of YPF, it is known that its members have had several movements during all these years. Even Burford sold in June 2017 15% of the case in 440 million dollars, having bought the entire package for less than $ 30 million to the Spanish justice.

Who can be this third actor who has acquired this percentage?

The only one who knows is Burford. It could be an Argentine or foreign investor. It could be any vulture fund, or any person or subcontractor who claimed the country at the "lawsuit of the century" closed in 2016. Or I could even be a current or former shareholder of the company. Or even a particular person.

This is something usual at Burford, a fund that is not specialized in financial investments (much less in the energy or oil sectors), but its experts are the megajurings for the millionaire trials, in general, for bankrupt companies or companies In case of bankruptcy, they have previous applications without definition and they need money to deal with their closure or their challenge. There are always shareholders in the cause who have capitalized and can choose to sell and capitalize. And, of course, others want to enter. To bring the parties together, Burford badumes the task of merchant and administrator and guarantees the secrecy of the participants. Secret that could end if Preska decided to thoroughly apply the process of "Discovery".