Blanqueo de concesiones: la operación que borra el rastro del lucrativo negocio minero del régimen y empresarios chinos
El sector minero de Nicaragua muestra señales “lavado de licencias”. Es una estrategia para repartir el negocio entre empresas chinas y y el régimen, pese a las sanciones de Estados Unidos.
TL;DR
- Chinese-owned mining companies in Nicaragua are frequently transferring concessions to newly formed companies, also with Chinese capital.
- This practice is termed "license laundering" and is believed to be a strategy to expand Chinese presence, conceal beneficial ownership, and evade U.S. sanctions.
- The environmentalist Amaru Ruiz points to the Tutuwaka lot as an example, where concessions have changed hands multiple times, including after a related company, Comintsa, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
- Comintsa is linked to Nicaragua's Minister of Energy and Mines and Ortega's son, suggesting a connection between sanctioned entities and the regime.
- The regime is accused of facilitating these transfers, exempting new companies from environmental impact studies, and benefiting financially from increased mining exports, particularly gold.
- 14 Chinese companies now control approximately 6.8% of Nicaragua's national territory through mining concessions.
- The article suggests these transfers are not for job creation or development but to generate foreign currency and obscure the true owners of mining concessions.