The lawsuit filed by Red Chamber against Profand in the U.S. must win jurisdiction outside of Argentina, which is highly unlikely.

Shrimp Crisis in Chubut: Andrés Arbeletche Denies Accusations from Red Chamber

ARGENTINA
Thursday, November 13, 2025, 03:00 (GMT + 9)

The Secretary of Fisheries for Chubut, Andrés Arbeletche, has commented on the "commercial lawsuit" filed by Red Chamber against the Profand Group in United States courts

He also referred to the mentions of his name and that of the State Prosecutor, Andrés Meiszner, in the filing, as reported by Karina Fernández of Revista Puerto.

After the province of Chubut terminated Red Chamber's contract for the operation of Alpesca and awarded it to the Profand Group, the company filed a lawsuit against the Group for violating five laws in courts in California, United States. In the arguments for each complaint, government officials are implicated: State Prosecutor Andrés Meiszner for "attempted extortion" and Secretary of Fisheries Andrés Arbeletche for "economic espionage." Arbeletche is named thirty times in the document.

In a radio interview on Radio Chubut, Arbeletche distanced himself from the accusations, assuring that they "are false claims that they cannot prove."

The Red Chamber lawsuit begins by asserting that:

"This case is about economic espionage, corporate subterfuge, and governmental corruption in Argentina that has resulted and will continue to result in severe domestic harm suffered in California to one of the largest and most respected family-owned businesses in the United States."

The Secretary of Fisheries emphasized that the lawsuit was not filed against the Government of Chubut, but against the Profand Group. The accusations of "attempted extortion" and "commercial espionage" are part of the arguments used to support the civil complaint based on the five U.S. laws, and do not constitute a separate criminal complaint.

Arbeletche stated that the lawsuit "adds a lot of claims that, besides being false, they cannot prove" and that it is "entirely a fantasy" introduced by lawyers to make the presentation "much more eye-catching."

The official highlighted the "most preposterous thing possible," which was the inclusion of the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), which deals with criminal associations, money laundering, and terrorism financing. In this context, Meiszner is accused, and Arbeletche is singled out as responsible for industrial espionage, which, according to him, "does not even exist as a crime in Argentina and has already been dismissed by the federal court in Rawson."

According to Red Chamber, the second cause of action for violating the RICO Act argues that the economic espionage and theft of trade secrets were committed by Profand in complicity with the Chubut Government officials. They denounce that a "supposed survey" ordered last May by the Appraisal Court to value Alpesca, and communicated by the Secretary of Fisheries, was actually used to "allow Profand employees to inspect the assets, confidential information, and equipment of Red Chamber."

They claim to have proof that at least one of the supposed government advisors who inspected Red Chamber's facilities is a Profand employee. They consider this act was retaliation for their refusal to pay "money under the table" and that the "Chubut government conspired with Profand" to infiltrate the company's employees to "spy" and "steal the trade secrets."

Furthermore, citing statements made by Arbeletche last September where he acknowledged that Profand could not access the facilities before September 30, they conclude that the Secretary "knew that allowing Profand to access Red Chamber's facilities was illegal."

The lawsuit claims that "Profand and the Chubut government formed a de facto partnership for the purpose of enriching themselves and harming Red Chamber." They maintain that now that Profand is ready to operate Red Chamber's plant, ships, and associated assets, it "can use the trade secrets" to market to the clients the company supplied.

Artificially generated image of Enrique García Chillón, president of Profand, and Marcelo Mou, president of Red Chamber, arm wrestling.

Arbeletche insisted that no official nor the Government of Chubut are part of the complaint or have been summoned, meaning they cannot defend themselves. He stressed that in a civil lawsuit, "I can say any outrageous thing about a third party and I don't have to prove it."

Nevertheless, in the Red Chamber lawsuit, every act by the government officials is linked to the reported claims, from the alleged request for "money under the table" to the "commercial espionage" which, they assert, has caused them severe damages, affecting their commercial commitments in the United States.

For the moment, it remains unknown whether the U.S. justice system will take up these allegations contained in the commercial lawsuit sua sponte, or if Red Chamber will deepen the accusations following the collapse of the alleged agreement to grant two provincial fishing permits.

Related News:

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