The Inspection Commission of the National Assembly investigates the sustainability of the SUCRE compensation system
On October 22, the Central State Bank sent a technical report to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the State Attorney General’s Office recommending that the Ecuadorian State assess the relevance of continuing to be part of the treaty establishing the Unitary System of Regional Compensation (SUCRE ).
It was revealed by Guillermo Avellán, manager of the Central Bank of Ecuador, during his appearance before the Supervision Commission of the National Assembly that intends to identify the sustainability of the SUCRE compensation system, about the results for the five countries of the Bolivarian alliance and in particular for the equator.
The official explained that the ECB, in its technical report last October, determined that there are no operations through the SUCRE and that difficulties and problems that the system is facing are shown, since in 2020 and 2021, the number of operations practically disappeared .
The Unitary System of Regional Payment Compensation (SUCRE) treaty was signed in October 2009, between the states of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela, the National Assembly ratified it on June 1, 2010, and on August 23 published in the Ecuadorian Official Registry.
The objective was to promote trade, reducing transfer costs and without the need to have currencies such as the US dollar to pay for foreign trade operations in the Latin American region.
Avellán reported that Ecuador from 2010 to 2017, contributed 2’309.736.54, from the Single Treasury Account, but that as a result of 2018 the annual contributions for the operation of the Regional Monetary Council (CMR) were suspended, due to the lack of information delivery.
The official explained that the system initially intended that foreign trade operations could be carried out using local currency, in the case of Ecuador because it does not have local currency, it had to make its transfers with dollars, and transactions were accredited by the BCE, according to the requests made by its exporters and importers.
Regarding the exports of Ecuador through SUCRE, it shows that they were mainly concentrated towards Venezuela with 99%, for a total amount of $ 2,697.51 million; and with respect to imports between the period October 2010 to 2015 they add up to a total of $ 143.31 million, where the participation of Venezuela is 82.3%.
Avellán affirmed that the operations with Venezuela via transactions through the SUCRE were greater than those registered by the National Customs Service of Ecuador and this draws attention, he added, because these transactions that were executed through the SUCRE should be equal to or less than those that were reported to non-oil exports that were registered through the National Customs Service of Ecuador.
On the other hand, in 2013, transactions through the SUCRE reached an amount of $ 822.9 million, while non-oil exports that were registered in the National Customs Service were located at $ 461.4.
Due to these inconsistencies, Avellán said, the Central Bank board approved regulation 044, on July 26, 2013, where it is requested that prior to crediting the resources to the final beneficiary of the operation, the financial institution must demand the number of the declaration when exporting. corresponding customs office and check that it is recorded with the regularized state.
The official said that in October 2019, in Caracas, without the presence of the Ecuadorian representatives, they resolved to subject the SUCRE to an administrative pause, due to limitations.
That since 2018, the ECB has insisted on providing information on the monetary operations of the SUCRE, especially those related to the trust, but later on requests for information from the Central Bank of Ecuador, the Regional Monetary Council (CMR), presented a report on the situation of the SUCRE in July 2021.
In the report, Avellán revealed, the difficulties of the system are detailed and it is recommended to consider, among others, the political, economic and operational viability of the SUCRE.
For the president of the Audit Commission, Fernando Villavicencio, with Avellán’s presentation, it is clear that being a system that allowed exports and imports using local currencies, they took advantage of the only strong local currency that is the dollar, to generate a washing system, because exports to Venezuela represented 99%.
He also said that from the preliminary information that the Commission has, more than 80% of exports to Venezuela are overvalued and fictitious, and in that context, the Global Construction Fund (Fonglocons) company appears, which involves citizens Álvaro Pulido. Vargas, Luis Eduardo Sánchez Yánez. In whose operations Alex Saab Morán also consists.
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According to Villavicencio, the Customs Service, the Fonglocons company, exported $ 296 million, of which it paid $ 2.2 million for foreign currency exit tax. That company signed several contracts with local companies to export construction materials to Venezuela, and one of them was Electrocables and a large part of those materials never reached Venezuela.
ECB shares
Guillermo Avellán, before the Supervision Commission, said that the Central Bank in 2019 prepared a technical report in June of that year, in response to a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where it also informed the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where it recommended to the competent authorities that from the decision-making bodies, given the elements and limitations presented, the relevance of continuing to be part of the SUCRE Consultative Treaty is established.
During the current administration a new request was made by the ECB during the CMR meeting in August 2021, to report on the current situation of the Reserve Fund and Trade Convergence (FRCC), so far no report has been received .
Faced with this, the current administration of the ECB prepared a technical report on October 22, 2021, which was sent to the Ministry of Economy and the State Attorney General’s Office, detailing the situation of SUCRE. In said report, it is recommended that the Ecuadorian State assess the relevance of continuing to be part of the Constitutive Treaty of SUCRE, if necessary, take the pertinent legal actions.
The official announced that in the coming days he will deliver to the National Assembly Supervision Commission on the number of Ecuadorian companies and the amounts, according to the Customs Service, correspond to fictitious or overvalued exports and registered by the ECB.
Likewise, it undertook with the Political Control Commission to present the names of the ECB officials who participated from the date the SUCRE compensation mechanism was enabled.
But, on the destination of the $ 56 million that were released after a court ruling, it can only be done through the courts as provided in article 242 of the Monetary and Financial Code, about the delivery of information, as well as all transactions through the SUCRE on exports and imports between Ecuador to Venezuela.
Villavicencio refuted the official and assured that this information is held by the Control Commission where it is indicated that these transfers were to banks in Miami, United States, in three accounts offshore.
At the commission’s session on November 4, the month decided to call Gerardo Reyes, Luis Eduardo Sánchez Yánez, Patricio Andrade, Carlos Marx Carrasco and Johny Estupiñan to appear. (I)
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