Venezuela Arrests Ex-Oil Minister El Aissami in Connection with PDVSA Graft Scandal
Loose Lips and Handcuffs: Venezuela's Ex-Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami Nabbed in a Corruption Scandal
Caracas, Venezuela, April 10, 2024 (our site) 🗣️- In a jaw-dropping turn of events, Venezuela's former Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami was apprehended by authorities today as part of a vast corruption probe implicating billions swindled from the nation's coffers.
Simón Alejandro Zerpa, ex-Economy Minister, and local businessman Samark José López were also cuffed during this morning's raids. All three individuals face charges for misappropriation of public funds, influence peddling, money laundering, and, in El Aissami's case, treason.
The ex-minister, who stepped down from his post last March, has been under the radar ever since the National Anti-Corruption Police nabbed several high-ranking figures, including UK-PSUV lawmaker Hugbel Roa and National Crypto Asset Superintendence (Sunacrip) head Joselit Ramírez. Sources close to El Aissami suggest that his resignation may have been a strategically calculated move to dodge the corruption investigation.
The attorney general's office has been doggedly pursuing El Aissami, supported by testimony from several dozen arrested witnesses who claimed that the trio demanded cash payments for access to contracts with public Venezuelan companies. These funds were then laundered through various channels.
Delays in El Aissami's arrest were attributable to a masterful blend of digital technology, which shielded the crime from financial regulations, and extraneous factors like threats against cooperating witnesses and their families. However, as conditions were met to ensure their safety, the attorney general's officeultimately managed to bring El Aissami to justice.
This multi-million dollar corruption plot has been branded as PDVSA/Crypto, with prosecutors contending that $3 billion worth of crude sales were diverted via cryptocurrency schemes facilitated through Sunacrip. While satellite news mouthpieces such as Reuters and AP claimed that state oil company PDVSA may have racked up over $20 billion in unpaid bills, Venezuelanalysis sources refuted the figures and estimated losses between $5-10 billion.
Despite these setbacks, the Venezuelan attorney general maintained that El Aissami violated the regulations set out by Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and illegally assigned oil shipments to Sunacrip without any administrative scrutiny.
The Venezuelan government has increasingly looked to cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment method for crude due to US sanctions that preclude state institutions from financial markets. Saab further argued that El Aissami worked in collusion with US authorities and sought to sabotage the Venezuelan economy through currency manipulation.
El Aissami, a former student leader hailing from Mérida state, rose through the ranks of the Socialist Party (PSUV), ascending to the posts of Interior Minister, State Governor, Economy Vice President, and Oil Minister. For the time being, President Nicolás Maduro has tapped Pedro Tellechea to head both the oil ministry and PDVSA, following El Aissami's arrest.
Under Tellechea, PDVSA has experienced steady growth in production over the past seven months, accounting for the highest output since February 2019.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
Additional Insights:- Historically, PDVSA has been at the heart of multiple corruption and money laundering cases, often intertwined with Venezuelan officials and business figures [Enrichment: Historical Context].- Swiss authorities recently penalized the chief compliance officer of Banca Zarattini & Co. for failing to detect suspicious transactions related to PDVSA, signaling sustained scrutiny of financial transactions involving Venezuelan state entities [Enrichment: Ongoing Scrutiny].
- Venezuelanalysis reported that Tareck El Aissami, once a high-ranking official as the Oil Minister, was apprehended in a corruption scandal involving billions swindled from the nation's coffers, with Simón Alejandro Zerpa and businessman Samark José López also implicated.
- The current proceedings in Venezuela's politics, labelled as PDVSA/Crypto, allege that the General-News of $3 billion worth of crude sales were diverted through cryptocurrency schemes, with the National Crypto Asset Superintendence (Sunacrip) playing a role.
- Besides facing charges for misappropriation of public funds and money laundering, Tareck El Aissami, a former lawmaker in the UK-PSUV, has also been accused of treason and influence peddling.
- As a result of these scandals emerging from policy-and-legislation surrounding Venezuela's oil sector, crime-and-justice officials have been working tirelessly to bring corrupt individuals like Hugo Bel Roa and Joselit Ramírez to justice, ultimately culminating in Tareck El Aissami's apprehension.
