The National Anticorruption Secretariat (Senac), filed a criminal complaint against unnamed persons about the alleged commission of punishable acts of Terrorist Association and financing of terrorism to the Public Ministry.
This complaint is related to the Venezuelan-Iranian flight that arrived in the country in mid-May to carry a load of 7,000 cigarette packs for G. 6,000 million from the tobacco company Tabesa de Horacio Cartes.
It is precisely the Aerocargo del Sur Transport Company (Emtrasur) and the flight made by the Boeing 747-3B3M aircraft of said airline between May 13 and 16, 2022 at the Guaraní airport in Minga Guazú.
Horacio Cartes, former President of the Republic, is affected by this situation, since one of his companies (Tabacos USA Inc.) bought production from another company of his; Tabesa SA This violates the American laws of the Ofac (Office of Foreign Assets Control) of the United States that prohibits the use of companies such as the Iranian plane in any transaction.
To exemplify the case, if a person/company/ship/plane/means of transportation is on the SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list, it is “untouchable” by any American. That is, you cannot do business, facilitate business or even participate in conversations that can be considered as business facilitation / activities of that SDN. If this is not complied with, said person is exposed to serious sanctions.
In this regard, Fernández stated that the next step, from an administrative point of view, is for a team of prosecutors to be appointed.
“We understand that a team was appointed regarding a discharge presented by an official who I do not know if he has a complaint form. The most logical thing would be for both complaints to be unified. Let the same team investigate. We have no communication but the complainant is not a party. In other words, the Public Ministry has no obligation to notify us,” he said.
When asked about the hypotheses they handle around this case, he pointed out that they came to the conclusion that the cargo of cigarettes carried by the crew was just a facade. This is due to the fact that all the data of the operation reflect that it has no financial profitability.
“All the expenses involved in the cost of air freight plus the crew of 18 people, a three-day stay, added to the presence of seven Iranian citizens, one of whom is linked to terrorism, are greater than the possible benefits that it would leave. the merchandise they brought, he pointed out.
The hypotheses handled by Senac about this mysterious flight are the following; what did that plane bring? because although they have declared that they had no charges upon admission, they also know that it is possible that there was a falsification of documents or a false declaration on that aspect. For what could have brought equipment, weapons or cash, especially in this last aspect it emphasizes, since these organizations have financial and economic sanctions of global scope that make it impossible to allocate funds between countries or components of that organization. organization. That is why the physical transportation of cash is necessary to finance its activities or the activities of its components.
The other hypothesis is the one linked to the meeting or direct personal contacts with local allies or local sympathizers. They are the two hypotheses that are handled.
When asked about the management of Dinac, Senad and Migrations on this case, he stated that the administrative investigations to determine responsibilities have already been initiated by order of Mario Abdo Benítez, President of the Republic.
“I cannot make a value judgment on that aspect, what I can mention is that the investigations are already underway and there must be final results to determine responsibilities,” he said.
Senac made a series of requests for reports and would be making a final opinion as a result of the investigation. However, Fernández did not want to venture to predict when this opinion would be finished.
“What we can say is that vulnerabilities are detected due to the way these events occurred and if in any way there is a positive fact, it is that the Government itself, through its Intelligence Service, was able to identify and unveil this mystery, which that produced rapid action from the neighboring country and also generates this investigative scenario that we have today,” he said.
Finally, regarding the Prosecutor’s Office, he believed that they have confidence in the institutions, so they trust that it can do a good job.
“We are part of the rule of law. We have made a complaint and we expect that it will be given the importance it requires. We believe that this fact is very serious, it constitutes a circumstance that must be clarified and we hope that the results will be available soon, ”he commented.
The new elements presented by Senac were the export operations, the names of the related companies, the documentation presented and the documents in Customs and Dinac.
REPORT
The criminal complaint provides new elements about the case. In the first place, Senac, after a preliminary legal analysis, detected behaviors that could be subsumed in light of the criminal types of terrorist association and financing of terrorism, provided for in Law 4024/2010 and its amendment 6408/19.
THREE POLICE OFFICERS MADE THE ACCOMPANIMENT
Federico González, Minister of the Interior, reported that three police officers were in charge of accompanying the Iranian-Venezuelan delegation that arrived in the country.
“They belong to the Alto Paraná Police Directorate that covers the airport. If they are identified and they carried out an accompaniment that is common to foreign crews that arrive at night. It was not an exception. I understand that they were a driver and two troops but I do not handle their names, ”he asserted.
González confirmed that the crew that arrived in the country was made up of 18 people. With this he denied Félix Kanazawa, president of the National Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (Dinac), who reported a smaller amount to some radio stations.
