US judge orders state to turn over its controlling stake in state-run oil company YPF SA as partial payment of a US$16-billion court judgment.

The turnover of the shares comes after a Manhattan judge ruled in 2023 that Argentina owed $16 billion to former minority stakeholders after it expropriated shares in the country’s biggest oil and gas company.

A U.S. judge on Monday ordered Argentina to give up its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion court judgment, handing a defeat to the cash-strapped country. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan said Argentina must transfer its YPF shares within 14 days to BNY Mellon,