In a surprising development regarding Hugo Chavez’s transfer of sovereignty to Cuba, El Nacional reported on July 17 that new electronic IDs will be managed by a branch of a Cuban “technology” university, called ALBET, which has subcontracted the Dutch multinational Gemalto’s wholly owned Mexican subsidiary for a staggering $40,500,000 to provide 6 million e-IDs. According to Spain’s El Pais, ALBET’s contract with Venezuela can be traced back to 2005. Even more concerning is the involvement of Ramiro Valdés, one of Cuba’s most feared party officials, who is reportedly linked to this contract.
Gemalto, a publicly traded Dutch firm, is the only entity in this agreement that must adhere to transparency regulations, yet it has not responded to any of my requests for information. To make matters worse, the latest three annual reports from Gemalto contain no indication of a contract between its Mexican subsidiary and ALBET. The $40,500,000 that seems to have changed hands is not accounted for either. Below are the emails I have sent thus far.
From: Alek Boyd
Date: July 21, 2011 12:47:29 GMT+01:00
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Re: Gemalto’s provision of IDs in Venezuela
Dear Mr. Bonnot,
My name is Alek Boyd, a Venezuelan blogger based in London. I have called your office a couple of times regarding an alleged contract between a Gemalto subsidiary (Mexico) and a Cuban intermediary for ID provision for my country’s government. Your name was provided to me by a helpful secretary in your London office (Vicky).
I would greatly appreciate it if you could review the message below and direct me to the appropriate person regarding these concerns. Also, I would like to add the following question:
– Why would a publicly traded multinational like Gemalto not directly engage the Venezuelan government for its services? Why resort to a questionable Cuban intermediary?
Sincerely,
Alek Boyd
From: Alek Boyd
Date: July 20, 2011 16:55:47 GMT+01:00
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Re: Gemalto’s provision of IDs in Venezuela
Dear Mr. Abdine,
El Nacional, one of Venezuela’s leading newspapers, reported on July 17 that Gemalto de Mexico has been contracted by a Cuban company called ALBET for $40,500,000 to provide IDs to the Venezuelan government. The alleged contract between Gemalto de Mexico and ALBET can be found, in Spanish, at the following link:
http://www.el-nacional.com/www/files/documento/170711_ctarjetas.pdf
The contract is said to have been signed on August 20, 2008. Given the significant amount involved and the nature of the services, one would expect Gemalto to highlight this in its annual reports. However, I couldn’t find any references in Gemalto’s reports from 2008, 2009, or 2010 regarding the contract described as existing between ALBET and Gemalto de Mexico, its wholly owned subsidiary.
This raises several troubling questions, particularly since Gemalto is a publicly traded company. To be frank, Venezuelans don’t much care about how Gemalto manages its business operations, tax declarations, or income sources. What concerns us is that Gemalto de Mexico appears to have subcontracted with a Cuban entity in a way that may violate Venezuelan law, potentially leading to millions of dollars in Venezuelan taxpayer money being received improperly if the contract is authentic.
Yesterday, I called your London office seeking clarification. After a brief explanation, a helpful secretary named Vicky mentioned that “someone senior would get back to me, either by phone or email.” Unfortunately, as of now, no one has.
Thus, I would be grateful if you could provide the name and contact information of a Gemalto representative who could answer some of the above questions, specifically:
1- Did Gemalto de Mexico, represented by Messrs. Arnaud Jean Loic and Martin Djunte Ghomsi, sign a contract with ALBET?
2- If so, what due diligence was conducted by Gemalto de Mexico to ensure ALBET had the authority to enter into contracts for ID provision to the Venezuelan government?
3- If so, how much has Gemalto de Mexico received to date (USD) based on contractual terms?
4- If so, what has Gemalto de Mexico delivered according to the contract?
Yours sincerely,
Alek Boyd
UPDATE, August 2, 2011: A comment from Rodrigo pointed me to what he describes as common practice: European companies reportedly paying bribes to officials through dubious intermediaries. This might explain why Gemalto did not contract directly with the Chavez regime. Rodrigo mentions three Panamanian companies (Billingsley Global Corporation, Ferdell Business Inc., and Selbor International Inc.) linked to unexplained payments on a €46 million deal involving Germany’s Bundesdruckerei with Venezuela (reported here by German media). Ferdell and Selbor have the same directors (Thays Herrera de Salas, Mariela de Cristi, and Eligio Rodriguez).
However, that’s beside the point. Gemalto’s ADRs are listed in the US, and its shares are also traded on the Paris stock exchange. Perhaps it’s time to raise these concerns with American and European authorities?