El Ciudadano
Original article: La trama detrás del megaproyecto extractivista Copiaport-E: Paraísos fiscales y vacíos regulatorios en Chile
Via Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts, OLCA
As communities in the Atacama region rally to protect Chascos Bay and its ecosystem, unsettling new evidence raises serious concerns about the Copiaport-E port megaproject. The formal ownership of this project lies with St Matthew Assurance Ltd (SMA), an insurance company that was initially established under the laws of the Modoc Nation in the United States and suspiciously relocated in 2023 to the Chiricahua Apache Mimbres Band Nation (CAMB).
These and other findings are detailed in a recent report published by the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts, OLCA.
The report highlights that project operators have touted the advantages of relying on tribal legislation (indigenous peoples). According to their claims, this could enable them to benefit from protections against international financial reporting standards designed to prevent crimes, such as those promoted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the U.S. FATCA regulations.
However, this arrangement raises questions about the potential instrumental use of indigenous sovereignties to evade tax controls.
Moreover, the Modoc Nation has been involved in legal cases related to so-called «tribal rentals.» In the case of «United States of America v. Scott Tucker and Timothy Muir,» courts established a scheme of predatory lending that generated over two billion dollars through illegal charges to millions of people.
SMA was subsequently moved to CAMB, as previously noted. However, this entity does not appear in the federal register of tribes recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, nor does it have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is a standard requirement for formal operation in the country.
Additionally, the business structure of Copiaport-E is connected to corporations based in Barbados, the Bahamas, and the British Virgin Islands. The project is promoted by executives associated with the Cotswold Group of Companies, a conglomerate that has operated across various low-tax jurisdictions. Some representatives are mentioned in the Panama Papers, reinforcing concerns regarding the use of tax havens.
There’s more. Brazilian businessman Eike Batista, the driving force behind Copiaport-E, was convicted in Brazil for corruption and money laundering.
Batista and his associates have operated for decades through offshore companies and currently maintain over a dozen entities related to Copiaport-E in Chile. Several of these companies are interlinked in reports from the Internal Revenue Service (SII), with some failing to declare their operational activities while conducting commercial acts and transformations registered with notaries and in the Official Diary.
Moreover, at least two companies in the group have obtained water rights in Atacama’s salt flats in previous years.
This overlap of companies in Chile and foreign jurisdictions, the insurer’s relocation among tribal structures, and the lack of tax clarity create a complex framework that is difficult to audit. This complicates the identification of actual ownership and the interests controlling the megaproject.
«This is not just a large-scale port project; we also see questionable corporate relationships that seek to exploit regulatory gaps. It calls for maximum alertness when an initiative threatening unique ecosystems relies on tax havens and opaque structures,» warns Lucio Cuenca, director of OLCA.
Cuenca emphasized that «Chile cannot allow its territory to become a platform for businesses trying to sidestep international standards in light of initiatives that threaten unique ecosystems.»
Consequently, doubts surrounding Copiaport-E extend beyond financial realms. They also challenge the authorities who have allowed its progress without fully addressing these questions.
In this context, the OLCA report becomes crucial, as its findings carry significant weight against projected impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the Atacama region, particularly concerning Chascos Bay, one of the most ecologically valuable areas in northern Chile.
Read the complete OLCA report here
El Ciudadano
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