Executives of companies searching for oil in the Falklands have been charged with sentences of up to 20 years

In the context of the new paradigm of national sovereignty imposed by President Javier Milei, the Argentine Republic has deployed a comprehensive strategy to halt the unilateral plundering of non-renewable resources in the Argentine Continental Shelf. In a historic judicial advance initiated by the criminal complaint filed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Lic. Pablo Quirno Magrane, along with the Attorney General of the Treasury, Sebastián Amerio, federal prosecutor Carlos Stornelli formally charged executives and shareholders of the companies Navitas Petroleum (from Israel) and Rockhopper Exploration (from Britain). The criminal case is being processed in the federal courts of Comodoro Py under the direction of federal judge Julián Ercolini.

The instruction request presented by Carlos Stornelli focuses on the clandestine exploration and exploitation activities of hydrocarbons in waters adjacent to the Falkland Islands. The prosecutor determined that the reported behaviors prima facie fall under the crimes punished by article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, and under the circumstances provided in articles 8 and 9 of Law 26.659.

Furthermore, the judicial investigation will extend to the possible commission of environmental crimes, customs violations, and money laundering arising from the illegal oil activities. Judicial sources confirmed that the sum of these criminal figures includes penalties that could reach up to 20 years in prison, in addition to the corresponding commercial disqualification and economic sanctions.

Within the ruling, Carlos Stornelli justified the charges by reviewing the record of violations of the involved firms and specifically cited the background of Desire Petroleum Limited (formerly known as Desire Petroleum Public Limited Company). In this analysis, he emphasized the validity of Resolution 130/2012 from the Secretariat of Energy, dated May 23, 2012, which declared their operations in Argentine waters illegal and clandestine, as well as Resolution 457/2013 from August 13, 2013, which imposed an absolute disqualification for a period of 20 years for benefiting from illegitimate licenses granted by the colonial British authorities established in the archipelago.

To definitively dismantle the corporate network supporting the controversial Sea Lion project, the prosecutor requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send all supporting documentation submitted on September 14. In parallel, he requested to proceed with the identification of all individuals and legal entities acting as shareholders, contractors, or providers of logistical support and technical assistance to the pirate consortium.

Finally, Carlos Stornelli requested the issuance of an international request directed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to activate the mechanisms of international criminal cooperation. Through this request, the Argentine Justice demands to obtain complete corporate information, the composition of boards and legal representation bodies from 2012 to the present, records of granted licenses, and the lifting of banking secrecy related to Desire Petroleum Limited, Desire Petroleum Public Limited Company, and the so-called Rockhopper group. In this way, the firmness of the libertarian management demonstrates that the resources of Argentines are respected and that the colonial plundering in the South Atlantic will not go unpunished.