In 2023, Argentina lost a case in a New York court in which former minority shareholders of oil and gas company YPF sued it for failing to offer to buy out their shares when it nationalized the company in 2012.

As the parties dispute the discovery process and which of Argentina’s assets, exactly, might be seizable, Judge Loretta Preska has taken the controversial step of ordering that current and former economy ministers’ communications — including their WhatsApp chat histories — must be handed over.

Argentina’s lawyers argue that the order would break the law. Preska is insisting. Here’s what’s going on inside the complex international litigation process.

Hedge fund Burford Capital, which won the US$16.1 billion case, is now trying to find the country’s seizable assets.

Preska has ordered Argentina to surrender the communications of past and present economy ministers, and submit itself to a full asset probe. This would include assets that can’t be seized, such as embassy buildings.

In June, Preska ordered Argentina to hand........

© Buenos Aires Herald