Tuesday, March 19, 2024
spot_img
HomeNewsCaribbean NewsVenezuelan business executive charged in connection with international bribery and money laundering...

Venezuelan business executive charged in connection with international bribery and money laundering scheme

WASHINGTON, USA – A dual Venezuelan-Italian citizen who controlled multiple companies via US based bank accounts was charged in an indictment returned Tuesday for his role in laundering the proceeds of inflated contracts that were obtained by making bribe payments to officials at Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

Acting assistant attorney-general Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, US attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Natalino D’Amato, 61, of Venezuela, was charged in an 11-count indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida. D’Amato was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, four counts of international money laundering, three counts of promotional money laundering, and three counts of engaging in transactions involving criminally derived property.

The indictment alleges that, beginning in January 2013 and continuing through  December 2017, D’Amato conspired with others, including officials at joint ventures between PDVSA and various foreign companies in the oil-rich Orinoco belt of Venezuela, to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme to and from bank accounts located in South Florida. These joint ventures were majority-owned and controlled by PDVSA.

According to the indictment, D’Amato offered and paid bribes to numerous Venezuelan officials who worked at the PDVSA joint ventures in order to obtain highly inflated and lucrative contracts to provide goods and services to the PDVSA joint ventures. The indictment further alleges that over the course of the conspiracy, companies controlled by D’Amato received approximately $160 million from the PDVSA joint ventures into accounts he controlled in South Florida. According to the charges, D’Amato used a portion of those funds to make payments to or for the benefit of the Venezuelan officials.

The indictment also includes allegations seeking criminal forfeiture of bank accounts involved in the charged offenses, with funds totaling approximately $45 million.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the HSI Miami Field Office and IRS-CI Miami Field Office. Trial attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and assistant US attorney Michael Berger of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. Assistant US attorney Adrienne E. Rosen of the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

spot_img
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Caribbean News

St Lucia engages Canadian company on assessment of labour market

By Caribbean News Global contributor CANADA / ST LUCIA - Leading Labour Market Research and Management Consulting firm, Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd...

Global News

Boosting productivity and increasing labour market participation would sustain Switzerland’s high living standards

GENEVA, Switzerland - Switzerland has shown remarkable strength during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent turmoil in energy markets following Russia’s war of aggression...