{"id":1192484,"date":"2026-09-08T02:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T02:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1192484\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T02:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T02:47:16","slug":"argentina-says-it-will-file-criminal-charges-against-energy-company-in-falklands-row-falkland-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1192484\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina says it will file criminal charges against energy company in Falklands row | Falkland Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argentina\u2019s government said on \u2060Monday it will file criminal charges against the Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and \u2060its executives \u2060for operating \u200bin the Falkland Islands<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move follows remarks on Friday by the Argentina<\/a> president, Javier \u2060Milei, who vowed to sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory as \u2060he stepped up the South American nation\u2019s sovereignty \u200bclaims.<\/p>\n

According to a \u200cstatement from the \u200cpresidency, foreign minister Pablo Quirno will file the criminal \u200ccomplaint against several Navitas subsidiaries and partners operating in the territory, along with their corporate directors.<\/p>\n

Navitas did not immediately reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The government alleges the firms violated Argentinian \u200claw by holding hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation licenses issued by the UK in the \u200bNorth Falkland Basin.<\/p>\n

Milei last week singled out the Sea Lion offshore oil project as he announced measures targeting companies involved in Falklands oil and \u2060gas activities, with penalties potentially extending to shareholders, directors \u200band \u200bsuppliers.<\/p>\n

The Sea Lion field \u200bis operated by Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum, \u200bwhich holds \u200ca 65% \u200bstake.<\/p>\n

Gideon Tadmor, \u200ba prominent figure in Israel\u2019s energy sector and the company\u2019s chair, holds about 9% of its shares, according to LSEG data.<\/p>\n

Last week Milei said in a televised address that \u201cwinds of change\u201d favourable to Argentina\u2019s claim<\/a> to the Falkland Islands are blowing around the world, after Donald Trump had earlier suggested he was reconsidering US support<\/a> for Britain\u2019s sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands.<\/p>\n

Officially, the US takes a neutral position on who has rightful sovereignty over the islands, which Britain first claimed in the late 17th century and has held almost continually since 1833. In practice, Washington recognises British administration over the territory, which was the subject of an Argentinian invasion and subsequent military conflict with Britain in 1982.<\/p>\n

In response to a question about whether he was reviewing the US\u2019s position over the Falklands, Trump last week said: \u201cI always review every position \u2013 that\u2019s just one of many\u201d.<\/p>\n

Milei portrayed Trump\u2019s response as a \u201cthreat\u201d that was \u201cnot innocuous\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US is considering this change of position because it knows that Argentina is a reliable partner, aligned with western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,\u201d Milei said. He also said companies developing oil \u201cbehind the back of the Argentine government\u201d would be barred from doing business in Argentina.<\/p>\n

Ministers in the UK immediately condemned Milei\u2019s comments<\/a>, saying the Falklands would remain British for as long as the people who live there wanted them to.<\/p>\n

Speculation about a US switch of allegiance over the islands has been swirling for months.<\/p>\n

In April, a leaked Pentagon email <\/a>suggested reviewing Britain\u2019s claim in response to its lack of support for Trump\u2019s decision to go to war with Iran. Trump is also unhappy with what he says is the small amount spent on defence by Nato alliance countries.<\/p>\n

A switch of US position would represent a psychological blow<\/a> to Britain\u2019s sovereignty over the Falklands.<\/p>\n

After Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, the decision by Margaret Thatcher\u2019s government to dispatch a naval taskforce that eventually resulted in their recovery was bolstered by staunch diplomatic support from Ronald Reagan, who came down on Britain\u2019s side, even though Washington was also an ally of the Argentinian ruling military junta.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Robert Tait and Tiago Rogero<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Argentina\u2019s government said on \u2060Monday it will file criminal charges against the Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1192485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":["post-1192484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","category-united-kingdom","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-northern-ireland","tag-scotland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wales"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117233139504105986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1192484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1192484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1192485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1192484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1192484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1192484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}