Amper and the revolving doors of Spain's border control industry

Amper and the revolving doors of Spain's border control industry

Pedro Morenés served as Minister of Defence. Today, he chairs Amper, one of the companies receiving the most funding from Spain's border control sector. According to expert Gonzalo Fanjul's analysis, more than 120 top state officials who previously held responsibilities in sectors directly linked to the border control industry now work for identified companies in this business. Fanjul himself cited this figure in a recent interview, emphasizing that this is not an exception but a systemic antiestéticature.

What is the border control industry and who is involved

The sector comprises companies providing services to the state regarding borders: surveillance, identification, data, technology, and flow management. Amper is one of the ten companies receiving the most funding from this business, and its president is a former Minister of Defence. Fanjul summarizes this with a clear statement: «it seems very natural», acknowledging that revolving doors are a defining characteristic of this sector.

The expert's figure—over 120 top officials—includes public officials who moved from designing or executing migration policies to joining the companies exploiting them. These are not isolated cases or statistical anomalies; it is an ecosystem.

The border business: who wins and who legislates

A recurring argument throughout the discussion is that if there is profit, there is no incentive to regulate it. The border control industry generates public contracts, which are awarded by administrations whose officials often end up on the payroll of the contractors. The result is a circle where regulators and the regulated share surnames.

The recent public analysis points to Spanish multinationals among the beneficiaries of this money flow. This is not just about security firms: there are also technology companies, consultancies, and service providers that have found an expanding market in border control. The unsettling question is: who audits who designs the system that feeds them?

PP, PSOE, and the unchallenged consensus

One of the most repeated readings is that this phenomenon transcends political parties. Both major parties have participated in the same scheme, and criticism does not distinguish between them. Some argue that the refusal to share the Council of Ministers with minor parties is partly explained by the discomfort of sitting at the table with those who might question the distribution. This is a hypothesis, not a proven fact, but it fits with the lack of parliamentary debate on awards.

The most common argument is economic: some sectors benefit from managing migration flows as a business rather than a right. These include employers seeking labor, the real estate sector, firms processing files, and organizations managing publicly funded programs. The list is long, and precisely for that reason, no one has incentives to shorten it.

NATO, Defence, and the military trail

The connection to Defence is not rhetorical. The president of Amper was a minister in that department, and the border control industry shares suppliers, technology, and doctrine with the military sphere. Some voices go further, locating the origin of this network in the orbit of NATO and its strategic interests. This is a thesis launched without conclusive proof, but it explains why border control has become a growing and opaque expenditure item.

What is documented is the transfer of officials: from administration to company, from company to contract, from contract to the next award. The circuit feeds itself and does not need fake doors.

The staggering figure

Over 120 top officials. This is not a round campaign number: it is the count of those who passed through the state and ended up in the industry that lives off what the state decides. As long as this number does not decrease, any promise of regulation sounds like empty talk.