Republic of Argentina Wins Important Victory in Second Circuit Court of Appeals

On October 15, Cleary Gottlieb won an important victory for the Republic of Argentina in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reversed orders of the district court freezing approximately $200 million of pension fund assets located in the United States. The lower court had issued the orders following the public announcement in October of last year that, in response to the global financial crisis, Argentine law was being amended to transfer the administration of the pension fund assets from private entities to the Argentine national security system, ANSES. The law required pension fund assets outside of Argentina to be repatriated to Argentina. The Second Circuit agreed with Cleary Gottlieb’s arguments that the social security funds in the United States were not being “used for commercial activity” in the United States, and that therefore the funds are immune from attachment and execution under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.