BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A U.S. Appeals court temporarily paused efforts by investors to identify Argentina’s assets in the United States in order to collect on a $16 billion judgment in a case about the 2012 nationalization of the South American country’s largest energy company.

Investors will not be able to move forward with the effort until appeals are resolved in the long-running case, in which U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered Argentina to compensate investors for the seizure of a majority share in YPF Energy.

In a ruling obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York halted attempts by former shareholders Petersen Energía and Petersen Energía Inversora — backed by litigation funder Burford Capital — to obtain evidence on the location of Argentine assets in the United States, including reserves such as gold bars held by the central bank.

Argentine President Javier Milei described the decision on Wednesday as a “historic” and “unprecedented” move in Argentina’s favor in the YPF case.

“This decision represents a historic milestone in the defense of the Argentine Republic in litigation that, for more than 12 years, has imposed enormous economic, legal and reputational costs on the country,” the president said in a statement. The Argentine government requested the suspension of the discovery process on March 6, according to the government’s statement.

But an expert cautioned that Argentina’s win on a procedural question does not mean that the court will ultimately overturn the $16.1 billion judgment — a figure that has since risen to more than $18 billion with interest.

Sebastián Maril, a Latam Advisors analyst and litigation specialist, told The Associated Press that Wednesday’s decision only pauses secondary proceedings like the effort to trace assets until a ruling is issued on Argentina’s appeal. Oral arguments were held in October, and a decision has been pending since then.

In June, Preska ordered Argentina to transfer its 51% controlling stake in YPF as partial compensation to the plaintiffs. Two months later, the appeals court put that order on hold.

Milei, who has struggled to rebuild depleted foreign reserves and has pledged to privatize state-owned companies, has blamed the case on his political opponents. In 2012, former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who served from 2007 to 2015, oversaw the government’s takeover of Argentina’s largest energy company, a move that added to the country’s reputation for failing to meet international financial obligations.

Plaintiffs were able to sue YPF in the U.S. because the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Since the nationalization, YPF has accelerated its drive to develop the country’s vast shale gas reserves in the Vaca Muerta field in Argentine Patagonia. Crude production at Vaca Muerta has steadily climbed, reaching nearly 600,000 barrels per day in January, about 68% of national output. In 2025, YPF reported a profit of $5 million, its highest level in the past 10 years.