The Foreign Ministry will investigate companies, shareholders, and suppliers linked to unauthorized hydrocarbon activities
The measure comes just one day after the national broadcast on the Falklands, in which Milei announced that the government would tighten the available tools to confront the advance of oil projects under British occupation and reinforce the defense of Argentine natural resources.
The government of President Javier Milei announced this Friday the initiation of sanctioning procedures against 45 individuals and legal entities linked to exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Falkland Islands without authorization from the Argentine Republic.
The decision was made by the Argentine Foreign Ministry at the direct instruction of the President and is part of the application of Law No. 26,659, which establishes prohibitions and sanctions against those participating in unauthorized hydrocarbon activities in Argentine territory.
According to an official report from the Presidency, the procedures will seek to determine possible violations of Article 2 of the regulation and will target not only the companies directly involved in the projects but also shareholders and service-providing companies that have facilitated those operations.
“The sanctioning procedure will be initiated not only against companies that would be illegitimately carrying out hydrocarbon activities on our continental shelf but also against their shareholders and companies that have been providing them services,” the statement indicated.
During his message, the President had indicated that the Executive would seek to provide greater coordination and speed to the procedures established by the Law 26,659, in addition to promoting a reform in Congress aimed at toughening penalties and expanding its scope to suppliers and other actors linked to the exploitations.
From the Casa Rosada, it was also emphasized that the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands, along with the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, are Argentine, and questioned the British advance on the region's natural resources.
“The Argentine Republic does not renounce and will never renounce its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands,” stated the government, which warned that those seeking to obtain economic benefits by violating Argentine legislation “will find in the Argentine state the full firmness of the law.”
The Milei administration seeks in this way to begin transferring the measures presented in the national broadcast to the administrative level and increase the consequences for companies and actors linked to the exploitation of Argentine resources without the country's authorization.
