New Delhi, March 28 -- Argentina scored a major victory as a US appeals court reversed a ruling ordering it to pay $16.1 billion over the seizure more than a decade ago of state-run oil company YPF SA.

The Manhattan judge who issued the award wrongly ruled in favor of former shareholders who said they were harmed by the nationalization of the Argentine oil company, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday in a 2-1 ruling.

Litigation funder Burford Capital Ltd. financed the suit and would have taken a large share of the award, which swelled to more than $18 billion with interest. Burford's US shares plunged on the news Friday, closing down 47% to $4.14 after earlier falling as much as 54 percent.

"The Second Circuit decision i...