Santiago Bertone

Santiago Bertone, doing business as Estudio Jurídico Del Franco & Bertone Asociados, is an Argentine legal services firm based in Chivilcoy, Provincia de Buenos Aires, that provides specialized international debt collection and asset recovery services to the Export-Import Bank of the United States as a prime contractor under non-competitive, sole-source purchase orders. The vendor operates exclusively for EXIM Bank and competes without set-aside designation.

The firm's capability portfolio centers on international legal recovery in South American jurisdictions, specifically Argentina and Brazil. Services include asset location and searches, foreign court litigation, debtor negotiations, asset execution, bankruptcy claim filings, and contingency-based recovery structures tied to actual cash collections on defaulted loan obligations. Representative work includes a $450,000 firm fixed-price purchase order awarded March 9, 2026, for standard recovery services on defaulted loan case G086774, requiring submission of a written recovery plan within 60 days and filing fee documentation; a $237,500 firm fixed-price purchase order awarded February 26, 2025, under EXIM Bank's International Recovery Argentina initiative, requiring a 99% quality performance standard and twice-annual meetings with recovery officers; and an $8,891 purchase order awarded February 23, 2026, for debt collection and asset recovery with extrajudicial collection attempts mandated within 90 days before proceeding to litigation under EXIM Bank direction.

Customer concentration is absolute: EXIM Bank accounts for all 16 awards and the full $736 thousand in combined potential value across the source data window. The vendor has maintained an ongoing relationship with EXIM Bank since at least 2016, receiving sole-source justifications under FAR Clauses 6.302-1 and 13.501(a) based on unique local legal expertise and specialized qualifications in Argentine and Brazilian legal systems. Only one award (valued at $9 thousand) reaches ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating minimal near-term recompete exposure. The firm operates exclusively as a prime contractor; no subcontract activity appears in the source data.