A US federal grand jury has indicted a fugitive Venezuelan television news network owner for allegedly participating in a scheme to launder $1.2bn in funds from Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdV.
Raul Gorrin, 56, and his co-conspirators allegedly paid millions of dollars in bribes to high-level Venezuelan officials to obtain foreign currency exchange loan contracts with PdV over a period ranging from 2014-2018, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said today. They are then alleged to have laundered the proceeds of about $1bn through means including buying real estate, yachts and other luxury items in southern Florida. The group used shell companies and offshore bank accounts, the US Department of Justice investigation found.
Gorrin, owner of pro-government network Globovision, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and could face up to 20 years in prison. Gorrin is a fugitive in a separately charged matter and remains at large.
The case comes as fallout continues from Venezuela's own scandals over PdV funds. Venezuela again recently arrested a former oil minister, alleging that Pedro Tellechea passed key information to US intelligence services over PdV operations. Tellechea, in turn, took over the role in the wake of allegations that his predecessor, Tareck El Aissami, had been involved in billions in missing PdV cryptocurrency funds.
