Argentina Malvinas Push Turns Criminal, and Trips Over Itself
ARGENTINA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —What happened The presidency announced on 7 September it will file a criminal complaint over Falklands oil work.
- —Who is named Three Navitas Petroleum entities, JHI Associates and Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas, plus their directors.
- —The law Ley 26.659 bars hydrocarbon work on the Argentine continental shelf without national authorisation.
- —The catch It was announced, not confirmed as filed. Official statements use the future tense.
- —The separate track On 4 September the foreign ministry opened administrative sanctions against 45 people and companies.
- —The embarrassment An opposition deputy says a firm sanctioned in 2013 holds 15 percent of a company granted RIGI benefits.
The Argentina Malvinas policy went criminal this week. Within a day it collided with the government’s own investment regime.
The Argentina Malvinas dispute moved from administrative penalties to criminal law this week. The presidency announced the step on 7 September.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno is behind it, with the backing of the treasury solicitor Sebastian Amerio. The venue would be federal court.
Five companies are named. They are Navitas Petroleum Development and Production, Navitas Petroleum Atlantic United, Navitas Petroleum LP, JHI Associates and Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas.
One qualification belongs at the top. The government said it will file, and we found no report confirming the complaint had actually been lodged.
The Argentina Malvinas Case Runs on Two Tracks
On 4 September the foreign ministry opened an administrative sanctions process under Decree 868/2026. That decree made the ministry the enforcement authority.
It covers 45 individuals and companies, including operators, shareholders, investors and service providers. They come from the United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, the United States, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Respondents have ten working days to answer. The process can end in disqualification from operating in Argentina for five to twenty years.
The criminal complaint is a separate and additional route. It seeks personal criminal liability rather than commercial exclusion.
The Law Being Used
Ley 26.659 bars exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons on the Argentine continental shelf without national authorisation. It has been on the books since 2013.
Argentina has used it before. Rockhopper Exploration was banned in 2013 and Navitas Petroleum in 2022.
What is new is the criminal framing and the naming of directors alongside companies. That raises the personal stakes for executives.
The Case That Undercuts It
On the same day, the deputy Maximiliano Ferraro of the Coalicion Civica made an allegation that cuts the other way. It concerns Harbour Energy, formerly Premier Oil.
Harbour was sanctioned in 2013 over unauthorised activity in the Malvinas area, with a ban running to 2028. Ferraro says it holds 15 percent of Southern Energy.
Southern Energy’s adhesion to the RIGI investment regime was approved by the economy ministry through Resolution 559/2025. That grants tax, customs and currency benefits to a gas project in Rio Negro.
The precision matters. Benefits went to Southern Energy rather than to Harbour directly, and Harbour’s exposure is as a minority shareholder.
We found no government response to the allegation. Ferraro argues the law reaches shareholders and not only operators.
The Elsztain Intervention
Separately, the businessman Eduardo Elsztain published a statement on 7 September about his own holding. He owns roughly two percent of the Falkland Islands Company.
He said he built the stake around 2005 and 2006, arguing that closer economic ties through an Argentine company could help the sovereignty claim. He said he tried to take majority control in 2017 and that British authorities blocked it.
He also denounced antisemitic attacks and conspiracy theories against him. Quirno defended him publicly, writing that he was the opposite of a traitor.
What to Watch
The first marker is whether the complaint is actually filed, and in which court. An announcement and a filing are not the same thing.
The second is any government answer on the RIGI question. Silence would leave the opposition framing unchallenged.
The third is the administrative process. Forty-five respondents have ten working days, which puts the first decisions in late September.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Argentina filed the criminal complaint?
It announced on 7 September 2026 that it will file one, naming three Navitas Petroleum entities, JHI Associates and Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas. Official statements use the future tense and we found no confirmation that it had been lodged.
What is the Harbour Energy allegation?
Deputy Maximiliano Ferraro says Harbour Energy, sanctioned in 2013 over Malvinas activity with a ban to 2028, holds 15 percent of Southern Energy, whose RIGI adhesion was approved by the economy ministry. The benefits went to Southern Energy rather than to Harbour directly.
What did Eduardo Elsztain say?
He confirmed a stake of roughly two percent in the Falkland Islands Company, built around 2005 and 2006, and said he had attempted to take majority control in 2017 before British authorities blocked it. Foreign Minister Quirno defended him publicly.
Sources: La Nacion, Infobae, El Litoral, Perfil, Diagonales, Comercio y Justicia, Rio Times.
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