NICARAGUA: FATF STATEMENT AND GUIDANCE ON IRAN

UNCLAS MANAGUA 002455 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/EPSC, ISN/CPI AND T TREASURY FOR SARA GRAY AND TFFC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC ECON NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: FATF STATEMENT AND GUIDANCE ON IRAN REF: A. SECSTATE 149648 ¶B. SECSTATE 148605 ¶C. MANAGUA 1987 ¶D. MANAGUA 1273 ¶E. MANAGUA 914 ¶1. (U) Econoff delivered Ref A demarche to the Ministry of Foreign Relations (MFA),the Superintendent of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (SIBIOF),and the Nicaraguan Central Bank (BCN). At each meeting Econoff left FATF and U.S. Treasury advisory notices concerning Iran, as well as the non-paper and fact sheet on the U.S. designation of Iranian entities and individuals contained in Ref B. Both SIBIOF Victor Urcuyo and BCN President Antenor Rosales stated that they would pass this information along to financial institutions, urging caution in all transactions involving Iran and Iranian entities. MFA Legal Advisor Aracely Rodriguez pledged to pass the message to relevant MFA authorities and the Presidency. Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance Ivan Acosta, an FSLN party stalwart, declined the request for a meeting, noting that "the issue was not relevant to his institution." ¶2. (SBU) Since the inauguration of President Ortega in January, Nicaragua has embarked on a closer, relationship with Iran, including the re-establishment of embassies and the exchange of Ambassadors (Refs C-E). On more than one occasion, President Ortega has highlighted Iranian promises of assistance, contrasting their "unconditional" nature with the targeted projects of western donors. Despite the July visit of an Iranian technical mission looking at possible areas of cooperation (Ref D),the Iranian Ambassador in Nicaragua Akbar Esmaeil Pour has explained to the press that Iranian Assistance will be slow in coming. ¶3. (SBU) To date, SIBIOF has received no reports of any suspicious transactions involving Iran from any of Nicaragua's financial institutions. However, if Iran steps up its presence in Nicaragua, we will revisit this question. U.S. financial institutions (Citibank and GE Financial) maintain a controlling interest in two of Nicaragua's top four banks. An American citizen owns a controlling interest in a third. HSBC recently purchased Banistmo, which maintains operations in Nicaragua. TRIVELLI