The tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) rejected Colombia’s arguments and ruled that it failed to provide fair and equitable treatment to telecommunications company Telefónica, ordering it to pay around US$380 million.
The dispute stems from a conflict over the “asset reversion” rule, a 1994 regulation introduced when mobile phones first arrived in Colombia. The rule required operators to hand over their antennas and networks to the state at the end of their contracts. Although later laws removed this obligation, a 2013 court ruling reinstated the original provision, forcing Telefónica in 2017 to pay nearly US$380 million to retain its infrastructure.
In 2018, the company filed a claim before international tribunals, arguing that Colombia had arbitrarily changed the rules of the game and violated the trust of foreign investors. After years of litigation, the ICSID tribunal ruled in late 2024 in favor of the Spanish multinational, ordering Colombia to reimburse the multimillion-dollar amount plus interest related to the infrastructure.