PANAMA: AMP SUB-ADMINISTRATOR RESIGNS, CRITICIZES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000290 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2019 TAGS: ECON PGOV PM PREL EWWT SUBJECT: PANAMA: AMP SUB-ADMINISTRATOR RESIGNS, CRITICIZES "QUESTIONABLE" PRACTICES Classified By: Classified by: Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP) is in the headlines following the resignation of sub-administrator Carlos Raul Moreno, who, as he headed out the door, denounced "questionable" practices designed to generate extra revenue from maritime flagging procedures at some Panamanian consulates. While the GOP depends on consulates as generators of revenue and registering ships is a legal stream of revenue for consulates, Moreno pointed out that the use of intermediary businesses in the process allowed so-called "double invoicing (doble facturaciones)" to occur. Separately, the efforts of a company with direct links to second Vice-president Ruben Arosemena to retain indefinitely an AMP concession are raising eyebrows. As the highest authority on all maritime matters, the AMP is responsible for port regulation, the registration of ships and seafarers licensed to Panama, and the oversight of services provided to ships. Post has been pushing the GOP to modernize the AMP and to clean up its non-transparent registration and concession practices. While the recent media coverage will probably not compel the current government to take action, the negative attention may help make reform of this important institution a higher priority for the next administration. -------------- Shape up or ship out -------------- ¶2. (C) "The only way to end (the consulates' irregular) registration practices is to order secret, rapid audits of the earnings from ship flaggings," said Moreno during his March 25 announcement of his resignation. The statement alludes to so-called "double invoicing" processes facilitated by intermediary businesses to generate extra revenue for certain consulates, including Greece and Tokyo. (Note: Moreno did not define "double invoicing." Although Post has heard differing views on what specifically he meant, it basically refers to a bookkeeping practice used to blend "fees" charged to registrants that apparently are not authorized by the GOP (e.g. an "after hours" fee) with the normal stream of revenue. Intermediary businesses facilitate the process by carrying out legal and administrative services and acting as the go-between for the customer and the consulate, all for a fee. The New York, Greece, and Tokyo consulates have undergone audits but the results have not been made public.) According to Panamanian daily "La Prensa," the AMP's latest report indicates that flag registrations generate over $200 million annually, but the treasury receives only $70 million of that money; the rest is spread out in commissions to "individuals" and the consuls. Moreno is no stranger to controversy himself: he is known in the media as the AMP "lackey" of President Torrijos's cousin Hugo Torrijos. Moreno raised eyebrows when he facilitated the granting of an AMP concession to Hugo Torrijos's company, Caribbean Pilots Services. While he did not give a specific reason for his resignation, Moreno probably resigned ahead of the coming change in administration (Note: General elections will be held on May 3.) rather than due to indignation over registration practices. (Note: Moreno later retracted his statement on a television program. Maritime lawyer Iria Barrancos told POLOFF a few days later that double invoicing was far more common in the past, and that it is "almost impossible" to do today due to improved control measures. Nonetheless, the buzz over Moreno's headline-grabbing comments persists.) ¶3. (SBU) Earlier in March, La Prensa carried two successive front-page stories on AMP concessions granted to Ships Incineration Services and Plus (Sisapsa),a company with direct family links to Panama's second Vice-president Ruben Arosemena. The company was founded while Arosemena was simultaneously second VP and director of the AMP, and is headed by Arosemena's brother-in-law. The brother of Dionisio Lymberopulos, another former AMP head, is also a Sisapsa partner. Sisapsa in 2007 was granted an AMP concession to provide sanitation services to ships, and now seeks to retain that right indefinitely. Arosemena has denied any conflict of interest by saying that the company deserves its concession because it carries out the requirements of the concession. On March 10, former AMP head Jerry Salazar stole front-page headlines with the quote: "The management of the AMP is inadequate," and his comments that officials should not have business interests with the institutions they serve, clearly a shot at Sisapsa, Arosemena, and Lymberopulos. -------------- AMP: Panama's supreme maritime authority -------------- ¶4. (C) The AMP is Panama's supreme maritime authority, and is responsible for administering and regulating the plans and programs related to the marine sector. This includes port regulation, and providing for the infrastructure and administrative necessities for services peripheral to Canal transition. The AMP also administers the world's largest open ship registry - there are currently 8,250 (over 100 ton) ships flagged to Panama and 350,000 to 500,000 seafarers licensed to Panama - and the funds generated from the registry represent a significant contribution to Panama's economy. While the administration of the Canal itself, through the Panama Canal Authority (ACP),is recognized as efficient and transparent, the AMP, as noted by Moreno and Salazar, suffers a lack of transparency, accountability, and capacity. (Note: This is not lost on the business-oriented opposition; members of Ricardo Martinelli's economic team recently told ECONCOUNS that they were appalled by its corruption and would make cleaning out the AMP a priority.) The AMP hired Spanish information technology company Indra Sistemas to automate the registry, but work has stopped and it is unclear how much progress was made. -------------- Nice work if you can get it -------------- ¶5. (C) Panamanian consuls worldwide are legally entitled to receive, on top of their salaries, a percentage of the revenues generated from registrations, visas, passports, etc. For example, according to Law 75 of 1990 a Panamanian consul who bills $20,000 in a month is entitled to an 8% commission, but a consul who bills $50,000 - $100,000 in a month pulls down a 10% commission. A 1% additional commission is granted to monthly billing that exceeds $100,000. Thus, consulates have an incentive to maximize their billing, and a consul at a high-billing consulate stands to earn -- completely legally -- tens of thousands of dollars on top of his salary. The consulate positions in Panama's most profitable consulates, Greece and Tokyo, are filled by Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) loyalists. In turn the party faithful that hold down these lucrative sinecures are often called upon to make political contributions to the PRD from the legitimate income they receive from their commissions. The so-called double invoicing practice involving private businesses as intermediaries contributes to the AMP's poor reputation. Although online registrations have cut down on such "questionable" practices, our contacts (and Moreno) note that there remains room for enterprising consuls to line their pockets. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The stories about shady dealings in the AMP in recent media articles are nothing new, but they do highlight a pattern of AMP behavior that reinforces Post's view that the institution suffers a transparency deficit. The conflicts of interest and lack of oversight within the AMP lead to scandals that damage the GOP's image and can give the wrong impression about Panama's overall positive business environment and the ACP's smooth operation of the Canal. Post will continue to push the GOP to make reforms to the AMP, but Torrijos is unlikely to take much if any action this late in his tenure. (Note: His term will end on July 1.) We are delighted to see the media's renewed attention on AMP funny business, not only because it may help make reform a higher priority for the next administration, but also because it shows democratic accountability at work, with the media raising the political price of shady dealings. STEPHENSON