BLUE LANTERN RESPONSE: TAA 0361-04F AND TAA 4140-08D

S E C R E T BOGOTA 000093 NOFORN SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1- HUMAN TAGS: ETTC KOMC SNAR CO TH PM SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN RESPONSE: TAA 0361-04F AND TAA 4140-08D REF: STATE 369; BOGOTA 3361 CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy Stater, Economic Counselor, DoS, Econ; REASON: 1.4C ¶1. (S//NF) Summary. Blue Lantern Officer consulted with the Defense Attache Office, US MilitaryGroup (MILGROUP),FBI and DEA regarding the accuracy of intelligence reports listed in ref A. DEA confirmed the derogatory information in ref A, linking Vertical de Aviacion to Helitaxi, Helicol and Byron Lopez Salazar -- a known money-launderer. In light of this information, Post does not recommend issuance of a license to Vertical de Aviacion to import goods on the U.S. Munitions List. ¶2. (U) Other information requested in ref A is provided below. End Summary. ¶3. (S//NF) At the time of the initial Blue Lantern pre-licensing verification request for Vertical de Aviacion, no derogatory information was found on the company or its owner and CEO, as listed on the business registration provided to Post by the company (ref B). The Department subsequently provided derogatory information about Helitaxi, the previous name of Vertical de Aviacion, and its owner Byron Lopez Salazar, and requested another review. ¶4. (S//NF) Per ref A, BlueLanternOff verified that DEA has derogatory information on Helitaxi, the previous name of Vertical de Aviacion. DEA confirms that the owner of Helitaxi, Byron Lopez Salazar, is a known money-launderer. His name is indexed in 20 DEA case files. However, the Colombian business registration of Vertical de Aviacion does not list Byron Lopez Salazar as an owner, although a Dunn & Bradstreet check does. According to officials at Vertical de Aviacion, the current owner is Mauricio Lopez Espinosa, son of Byron Lopez, and the CEO is another son, Fernando Lopez Espinosa. DEA has no derogatory information on either son. Fernando Lopez is a dual U.S. and Colombian citizen. ¶5. (SBU) The parent company of Vertical de Aviacion is Icaro International Services, which owns 80% of the company. Angie Garcia (tel: 202-246-6814),the Executive Assistant at Vertical de Aviacion's offices in Washington, D.C., reported the following information requested, per ref A, for Icaro International Services: President: Julio Cesar Morales Vega Treasurer: Myriam Vega de Morales Secretary: Carlos Neira Address: Calle 64 Casa No. 21 Corregimiento San Francisco Ciudad de Panama, Republica de Panama Phone: (570) 226 3780 Fax: (570) 226 9296 Mobile: (570) 649 10464 Email: jcmorales@cableonda.net Panamanian ID and registration number: Ficha: 235862 Rollo: 30053 Imagen: 53 Panamanian Agency/Office that maintains Icaro International Services' registration records: Registro Publio de Panama Phone: 501-6000 Address: ViaEspana, Calle 67A, Frente a la Clinica San Fernando Web address: https://www.registro-publico.gob.pa/ Date of Registration of Icaro International Services: July 26, 1990 According to Fernando Lopez, Icaro International Services does not own any other companies. ¶6. (SBU) Vertical de Aviacion reports the following Russian national employees: Name (Last, First) Colombian ID Passport a. BABKINE VALERI 260582 50 No.0313217 b. BOLCHOUKHINE NIKOLAI 271024 51 No.0396498 c. BOTALOV ALEXANDER 300164 60 No.5871640 d. CHEVKOUNOV MIKHAIL 312838 51 No.1482814 e. DEMIANENKO SERGUEI 310530 51 No.1482774 f. DOUBENTCHOUK VASSILI 266722 60 No.5510346 g. DOUCHKOV VALERI 271023 51 No.0396392 h. ELISEEV ANDREY 363054 63 No.5057723 i. IANOVCHKEVICH VITALI 286467 51 No.0396319 j. LEONTIEV ALEXANDRE 270998 50 No.0313180 k. LUKASHEVICH ALEXANDER 286466 60 No.5582896 l. MALIOUTINE ANATOLI 266942 51 No.0396485 m. ORLOV ALEXEY 376090 70 No.3376251 n. PALIANOV ANDREI 273305 51 No.0396456 o. RADYGINE SERGUEI 273203 51 No.0396457 p. SALMINE ALEXANDER 311150 51 No.1483684 q. SAZONOV GRIGORI 320285 51 No.0614006 r. SHUSPANOV SERGEY 350692 63 No.1219216 s. UMYCHEV VICTOR 312392 51 No.1482751 ¶7. (S//NF) A background check on the name Icaro International Services in DEA databases shows that the company was flagged for suspicious banking activity in 1997. ¶8. (S//NF) BlueLanternOff consulted with MILGROUP, who confirmed that they have a current air transport agreement with Vertical de Aviacion. This contract is now under review by its contracting officer as a result of this Blue Lantern investigation. ¶9. (SBU) In light of this information, Post does not recommend issuance of a license to Vertical de Aviacion to import goods on the U.S. Munitions List. BROWNFIELD