VZCZCXYZ0023
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0146/01 0381535
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071535Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0198
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 1991
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0763
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1023
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0081
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR L/WHA; L/M; L/DL; OFM; S/CPR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT KLIG KCOR KTIA ODIP PREL ASEC KREC AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA'S DIPLOMATIC "CAR TALK" SCANDAL ROLLS ON 
 
REF: (A) BUENOS AIRES 0085 (B) BUENOS AIRES 0078 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: "Car Talk" continues to fill the daily 
press with new twists in allegations of illegal diplomatic 
car sales.  The Supreme Court is expected to announce it 
found insufficient evidence against foreign diplomats to 
warrant its involvement in the case, somewhat vindicating the 
diplomats who objected vehemently to MFA, Customs, judicial 
and media handling of the case.  Public interest in the U.S. 
Embassy's possible involvement in shady car transactions has 
dwindled.  Press reports claimed the GOA would seek USG 
assistance in obtaining information related to vehicles 
exported from the U.S. to Argentina, but no such request has 
been received.  Given the continuing uproar over mis-handling 
of car imports and sales by the MFA, we may face additional 
delays for processing post's paperwork at the MFA, where 
officials spooked by the scandal will be increasingly 
reluctant to sign anything.  Action Request in para 11.  End 
summary. 
 
Court Cases Losing Steam 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Argentine Supreme Court is expected to return to 
a lower court the investigation of the "diplomatic car 
scandal," based on a finding by Attorney General Esteban 
Righi that there was not yet enough evidence against any 
diplomats to warrant a request for waiving immunities.  The 
"diplomatic car scandal" is now under the jurisdiction of two 
parallel court cases: one led by federal judge Norberto 
Oyarbide, investigating a complaint filed by FM Jorge Taiana, 
the other led by judge Jorge Brugo, investigating a complaint 
filed by the head of Customs, Ricardo Echegaray.  There is 
another, older case, overseen by judge Claudio Bonadio, based 
on charges filed by two private citizens against car dealer 
Pablo Rodolfo Rodriguez.  (It was this case that first 
implicated MFA officials, reportedly prompting FM Taiana, 
seeking cover, to file the MFA's poorly documented complaint 
on January 21.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Judge Brugo took over the Customs case from Judge 
Marcelo Aguinsky, who conducted a search of the MFA and 
discovered that relevant MFA files for 2004-06 had been 
destroyed.  He seized three computers, but press reports 
claimed these computers had recently been overhauled.  Judge 
Aguinsky also made headlines when he ordered the confiscation 
of 56 of the vehicles under investigation.  The press has 
identified the current owners of many of 
those vehicles.  Due to the high prices of the models 
involved (e.g., Porsche, Lamborghini, Hummer, etc.), many of 
these "diplomatic cars" are now in the hands of wealthy 
celebrities, most of whom insist that they bought the 
vehicles in good faith from middlemen. 
 
Diplomats Up in Arms 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The diplomatic community has reacted very negatively 
to the complaint filed by the MFA, criticizing it and other 
government entities involved in press leaks (Customs and the 
investigating judges) for lumping together truly suspect 
cases with patently innocent ones and causing much distress 
to diplomats unfairly impugned in the press.  Russian 
Ambassador Yuri Korchagin speculated to the press about a 
possible political motive for the scandal, saying "it seems 
that someone seeks to alienate the foreign embassies from the 
MFA."  He also mused, "We do not understand why the press has 
been playing up the fantasies and commentaries of 
dilettantes."  Chilean Ambassador Luis Maira, whose name also 
appears in connection with the scandal, pointed out that he 
personally had not imported any vehicles but had, as chief of 
mission, signed necessary paperwork for embassy employees to 
clear 
their goods through customs, as required by the MFA. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Cuban ambassador, reportedly frustrated by 
repeated failures to get information from the MFA, showed up 
at the MFA unannounced, demanding an explanation.  The 
Spanish DCM demanded and obtained a public apology from VFM 
Garcia-Moritan for the MFA's sloppiness in listing him by 
name in connection with the importation of a 1957 Austin, 
even though all duties had been paid on the vehicle.  The 
Spanish diplomat was outraged that local press reports 
linking him unfairly to the scandal had been picked up in the 
Spanish media, to the potential detriment of his career. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Following complaints from members of the diplomatic 
corps that the MFA had taken them by surprise with its formal 
complaint and leaks to the press, the MFA circulated a 
diplomatic note explaining that "in 2007, the MFA's Internal 
Auditing Unit prepared a report on the performance of the 
Department of Diplomatic Privileges.  On the basis of a 
sample of 98 cases drawn from a universe of roughly 1000 
cars, presumed irregularities were detected in the issuance 
of diplomatic exemptions during the period 2004-2007.  As a 
result of this report, there is an internal administrative 
disciplinary action under way which is sensitive, protected 
information.  Likewise, the corresponding complaint was thus 
presented to the judicial authorities.  The MFA has 
implemented several measures to improve the system for 
issuing exemptions.  While fully allowing for the division of 
powers and to the 
extent the MFA receives information from the court 
authorities, the MFA will keep the diplomatic corps posted." 
 
MLAT Request? 
------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Public interest in this Embassy's possible 
involvement in shady car transactions has dwindled, but the 
press has reported that the GOA might use the Mutual Legal 
Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to ask the USG to provide 
information on the sale and export of cars from the U.S. to 
Argentina relevant to the investigations under way (by 
non-U.S.-diplomats, citing a Venezuelan attache's purchase of 
a Lamborghini as an example).  Under the MLAT, a GOA request 
would go directly from the Argentine Ministry of Justice to 
DOJ in Washington.  To date, the Embassy is not aware of any 
such MOJ-DOJ communication. 
 
Other embassies lifting immunities? 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) There have been press reports that other diplomatic 
missions in Buenos Aires were preparing to waive immunities 
in cases involving some of their employees.  Embassy contacts 
with other embassies indicate that, in the absence of 
requests from the GOA for specific information, such actions 
would be premature.  (The Bolivian and Paraguayan embassies 
are reported targets for multiple investigations.) 
 
Tensions in the GOA bureaucracy 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) At the MFA, the two most prominent casualties of the 
scandal to date have been Jorge Matas, who headed the 
Exemptions Department until about six months ago, and Eduardo 
Mitchel, his replacement since then.  More broadly speaking, 
another MFA casualty may be its relations with at least 14 
embassies identified in the MFA complaint.  In addition to 
getting much of the local diplomatic community up in arms, 
the MFA also seems to have irked other GOA agencies.  Customs 
Director Echegaray publicly complained that the MFA had never 
notified Customs of some of its new rules, procedures, and 
limits for importing diplomatic 
vehicles.  Echegaray's deputy was forced to resign over this 
scandal, and February 6 it was reported that Alberto Abad, 
head of the GOA's internal revenue service (AFIP), had 
ordered the removal of two more of Echegaray's team, 
including the Customs Inspector General, prompting 
speculation about increased tension between AFIP and Customs, 
and that Echegaray may be asked to leave also.  Some informed 
observers tell us that the scandal, as it threatens to lead 
to internecine warfare within the GOA and wreak havoc on 
Argentina's relations with several Latin American and 
European countries, could potentially threaten Taiana's 
continued tenure at MFA. 
 
Embassy's Internal Investigation 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) At the request of the Ambassador, RSO conducted an 
internal investigation into the allegations involving one 
mission employee.  RSO did not uncover any evidence of 
criminal activity or fraud. A separate cable containing the 
report of investigation was sent via DS channel to DS's 
Criminal Investigative Liaison (CIL) Office. 
Action Request 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Post will not approach the MFA regarding the 
alleged case against the former mission Officer, but post 
does request the Department's guidance regarding what post 
can say publicly or in private to the MFA if asked about the 
case, or if the MFA requests information or copies from 
post's administrative files.  Additionally, we would like 
clear guidance as to our response if post is asked to waive 
any immunities. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The Supreme Court's expected concurrence with the 
Attorney General's finding (see para 2 above) should shift, 
at least momentarily, the focus of the criminal 
investigations away from diplomats to the shady middlemen who 
brokered the car sales and the GOA officials complicit in the 
evasion of duties.  The Supreme Court reserved the right to 
take up the case if evidence of diplomats' knowing 
involvement in these schemes is uncovered.  While we believe 
the Embassy will not be a fruitful target of investigation, 
we may well be affected indirectly by the scandal's fallout. 
In other GOA ministries shaken by scandals, we have seen 
officials become excessively cautious about signing their 
names to anything.  We have already seen reports that the MFA 
will review and computerize all car records for recent years. 
 Pushing post's paperwork through the GOA bureaucracy will 
probably become even more onerous as MFA officials, already 
known to be sticklers, may carry their caution to extremes. 
 
WAYNE