On Raul Castro's Birthday... U.S. Department Of State Adds FINCIMEX And Six Cuba Military-Owned Entities To Restricted List; Could It End Western Union Services & Mastercard Usage?
/The Trump Administration expects that Western Union Company and Mastercard International will request the Republic of Cuba either identify or create another entity or entities not affiliated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (FAR) which would process the financial transactions. If the Republic of Cuba refuses, the Trump Administration is prepared to cease remittances, although the process could be a painful game of chicken for millions of people of Cuban descent residing in Florida, New Jersey and in the Republic of Cuba.
The Trump Administration’s action today is described as a "birthday present to former President General Raul Castro."
United States Department of State
Washington DC
Additions to the Cuba Restricted List
06/03/2020 05:23 PM EDT
Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
“Today, the United States Government is announcing the addition of seven new subentities to the Cuba Restricted List. These seven subentities disproportionately benefit the Castro dictatorship, a regime which uses the profits from these businesses to oppress the Cuban people and to fund its interference in Venezuela, at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba.
Among the seven subentities are one military-controlled financial institution, three military-owned hotels, two military-owned scuba diving centers, and one military-owned marine park for tourists. In particular, the addition of financial institution FINCIMEX to the Cuba Restricted List will help address the regime’s attempts to control the flow of hard currency that belongs to the Cuban people. The people should have the freedom to decide what to do with their own money. The bulk of Cuba’s tourism industry is owned and operated by the Cuban military. We urge anyone who would visit the island to be a responsible consumer and avoid providing additional funds to the repressive and abusive Castro regime. Instead, we urge that visitors to Cuba support the Cuban small business owners who struggle to succeed despite the heavy restrictions placed upon them by the regime.
The Cuban people deserve democratic government, freedom of speech and religion or belief, economic prosperity, and respect for human rights. The United States stands with the Cuban people as you struggle to achieve this vision and look forward to the day when the dream of freedom becomes reality.” NOTE: The changes take effect on 12 June 2020. LINK To List
LINK To Federal Register Document (12 June 2020)
LINK To Federal Register Document Correction (19 June 2020)
NOTE: The Miami Herald reported: “…the following entities were also added to the restricted list: Hotel Marqués de Cardenas de Montehermoso, the Hotel Regis, the Cayo Naranjo dolphinarium, the Varadero diving center and the international diving center Gaviota Las Molas. The list was updated to include the Playa Paraíso Hotel, formerly Pestana Cayo Coco hotel, which was already among the blocked entities.”
Remittances
Denver, Colorado-based Western Union Company (2019 revenues approximately US$5.5 billion) has electronically delivered annually transfers of reportedly valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.
The Western Union Company remittance agent in the Republic of Cuba is Republic of Cuba government-operated Financiera Cimex (Fincimex), a Panama-registered subsidiary of Republic of Cuba government-operated Corporacion Cimex which is a subsidiary of the Enterprise Administration Group (GAESA) controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Republic of Cuba (FAR).
Western Union Company does not report data as to the value of transfers from the United States to the Republic of Cuba; consistent media reporting estimates that remittances from the United States to the Republic of Cuba are annually approximately US$1.5 billion to US$3 billion, with the majority of the funds delivered as currency by individuals traveling to the Republic of Cuba. On 14 March 2018, Havana Times, an online publication edited in Nicaragua, reported without verification that Western Union Company delivered “more than 3 billion US dollars annually” to the Republic of Cuba, but did not mention as to the origin(s) of the funds- whether from the United States and/or other countries.
To send US$100.00 from the United States to the Republic of Cuba where the recipient will receive the funds in currency, using www.westernunion.com, the fees range from 9% to 14.99% to 19.49% depending upon delivery time and method of payment used for the transaction. The Republic of Cuba reportedly receives approximately 20% of the fee paid by customers to Western Union. LINK To Western Union Company certified claim.
Mastercard
Purchase, New York-based Mastercard Incorporated removed its restriction for the Republic of Cuba on 1 March 2015.
Financial institutions which authorized their Mastercard products (credit card and debit card) for use in the Republic of Cuba: Pompano Beach, Florida-based Stonegate Bank (2017 assets approximately US$2.9 billion); San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular of Puerto Rico; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Natbank.
In 2015, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury authorized Stonegate Bank to have an account with Republic of Cuba government-operated Banco Internacional de Comercia SA (BICSA), a member of Republic of Cuba government-operated Grupo Nuevo Banca SA, created by Corporate Charter No. 49 on 29 October 1993 and commenced operation on 3 January 1994.
Stonegate Bank provided commercial operating accounts for the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Washington, DC and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cuba to the United Nations in New York City; the financial institution also handles other types of OFAC-authorized transactions.
In September 2017, Stonegate Bank was purchased by Conway, Arkansas-based Home BancShares (2019 assets approximately US$14 billion) through its Centennial Bank subsidiary.
The Obama Administration did not authorize BICSA under a general OFAC license or reportedly in the OFAC license issued to Stonegate Bank for it to have an account with Stonegate Bank, so Stonegate Bank has processed transactions for approximately eighty (80) customers on a regular basis through Panama City, Panama-based Multibank, which has dealings with the Republic of Cuba.
