On June 9, 2022, Altán obtained a loan worth $290,000 from the Development Bank with the purpose of continuing with the deployment of the Red Compartida project and with it its business as a wholesale company, that is, renting capacity to telecommunications operators such as Virtual Mobile Operators (OMV).
But two days prior to the delivery of the loan, CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos entered into an agreement with NAFIN to become trustee – money manager – of the “Counterguarantee Trust for Business Financing” established by Nacional Financiera itself. This trust works “as a financial support mechanism,” specifically “for small and medium-sized businesses.” It also allows “taking the risks of non-payment by companies,” details the ASF report.
CFE Telecomunicaciones explained to the ASF that it resorted to this mechanism to “allocate resources for the benefit of the network of telecommunications companies”, in this case Altán Redes to allow it to continue with its objective of closing the country’s digital divide, since since Two years ago it used its infrastructure to enable telephone and internet services in the country as part of the flagship project of the administration of López Obrador and now of Sheinbaum Pardo.
But this mechanism also allows CFE Telecomunicaciones to shield Altán itself from possible financial defaults with the Development Bank because the company is still facing problems in meeting its payment commitments from the commercial bankruptcy and the radio spectrum itself.
“(…) The (trust) contract was entered into with the purpose of agreeing with the Development Bank to participate in the risk regarding the financing that the Development Bank granted to Altán Redes, so in the event of non-compliance by Altán Redes, the resources contributed by the CFE TEIT to the trust will be used to cover the unpaid balance,” details the Audit report.
CFE Telecomunicaciones has contributed $161,000 to the trust, but the amount can increase up to $261,000, because the agreement is valid until December 31, 2037. The maximum amount that CFE TEIT can inject is almost the amount of the Altán’s credit, while the year of validity of the contract corresponds to the 15 years that the Red Compartida company has as a limit to pay off the loan.
The ASF did not find evidence of how NAFIN provided CFE Telecomunicaciones with the bank details or instructions to make the deposit of the $161,000. However, the supervisory body confirmed that until its report, Altán Redes has not used the financial resources provided by CFE Telecomunicaciones.
The contribution of resources via trusts is an action that contradicts the Moreno administration. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and her predecessor, López Obrador, have been harsh critics of these legal figures, labeling them as immoral and corrupt acts.
But the CFE, like CFE Telecomunicaciones, has used this figure to help settle the bankruptcy debt of Altán, a quasi-state company and a key piece to close the country’s digital divide and to compete directly with the large telecommunications operators. .
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