In the latest mismanagement of public funds, it has come to light that PWS International managed discretionary training and travel funds on behalf of public employees of INS and ICE. The funds were diverted onto “the path less traveled” through a surcharge on a re-insurance policy INS maintains with PWS related to the ICE hydroelectric plants.

Allegedly, from 1997 – 2002 PWS overcharged INS on its policy at the request of the manager of the reinsurance department, Alvaro Acuña, who said he was acting on behalf of bigwigs like Cristobal Zawadski, INS President and Armando Balma, General Manager of ICE. A letter from Adam Bragg, Director of the Americas for PWS, to Jose Luis Soto explains how the fund worked.

Personnel at ICE and INS took advantage of the so-called “Training and Travel Fund” to take luxurious trips, ostensibly to familiarize themselves with the re-insurance industry. Trips were at times on first class tickets and 5 star hotels and were to places such as Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Iceland, South Africa, Germany and Switzerland.

Since such trips come under public scrutiny if they are included in the budgets of INS and ICE, the parties involved determined it would be less complicated if the funds were managed by the private insurer PWS. PWS overcharged on the policy, and then released the same funds back to ICE/INS as requested.

The surcharge was discovered prior to September of 2003 by German Serrano, who at that time was the president of INS. As a part of his normal duties, he questioned the abnormally high amount of the re-insurance policy for the plants. During a trip to England in September he asked for detailed information from PWS, and shortly thereafter the policy was readjusted.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available.