The federal judge in Rio Grande Dr. Lilian Herráez , it upheld the request of the Public Prosecutor and ordered embargos in the amount of $ 156 million on assets of foreign companies that are extracting oil illegally from the seabed in the vicinity to the Islands Malvinas .
the holder Office of Economic Crime and Money Laundering (Procelac) Carlos Gonella , described the decision as "an act positive sovereign exercise carried out by the judicial system in the context of a criminal case. "
Thus, Argentina applies national regime of hydrocarbons on a territorial portion historically claimed by the state. Indeed, the respondent companies are conducting mining activities on the continental shelf, by the provisions of Convention on the Law of the Sea (signed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1982), belong to national jurisdiction . Argument to which are added other historical, legal and even biological criteria.
The injunction was then deployed the complaint initiated jointly by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hector Timerman Minister of Federal Planning Julio De Vido , and Treasury Attorney's Office Angelina Abbona , in March this year. From Procelac, they took the complaint and promoted, along with prosecutors southern Eloy Garcia and Marcelo Adrian Rapoport. (SEE: "Denounce five oil companies exploring in Falklands Islands")
Gonella said in an interview with Look Who's Talking , which through satellite tracking, "it was found that ships of foreign flags , predominantly British, but also Norwegian, Italian and American ships are carrying out exploration and illegal extraction of hydrocarbons "on the continental shelf that Argentina claims as territorial.
the measure of the embargo on the assets of companies which includes mainly ships used by them, seeks to condition the goods while the criminal proceedings are conducted so that, after the sentence, "the domain of private ownership of these assets is extinguished and pass the state public acquis "said the head of Procelac.
Gonella said that this process has just begun. "Now these measures will be implemented through an international cooperation mechanism for public authorities where these goods are registered, comply with the orders of the Argentina justice," said the prosecutor.
3D image showing the projection of the continental shelf beneath the Argentine Sea.
the importance of the legislative policy on the Malvinas Question
This process is based on the application of Law 26,659 on Conditions for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in Argentina Continental Shelf enacted in 2011 and amended by Law 26,915 (2013).
Although the allegations date back to 2010. at that time, it would have been difficult to initiate a process penalty as the only applicable figure had been provided for in Article 162 of the criminal Code on "shoplifting".
Therefore, the National Congress decided to sanction two laws that allow Power Judicial sanctioning natural resource extraction activities without proper permission from the authorities.