More than 40 people have been detained in Venezuela as part of an anti-corruption “crusade” within the state oil company PDVSA and other government companies that involves senior officials and businessmen, the prosecutor’s office reported Saturday.
“To date, the Public Ministry has managed -together with the auxiliary bodies- the arrest of 42 individuals linked to the various corruption schemes that sought to embezzle (…) the national economy, harming the community in general,” the prosecutor reported. General Tarek William Saab on Twitter.
The arrests began on Friday, March 17, after a statement issued by the National Anti-Corruption Police, a body that acts under strict secrecy, which asked the Public Ministry to prosecute officials who “could be involved in serious acts of corruption and embezzlement “.
The most recent arrests correspond to Pedro Maldonado, president of the state-owned Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), as well as those in charge of the Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor).
Judicial sources told AFP that Maldonado, who was previously director of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), was part of a corruption scheme led by former deputy Hugbel Roa, who for years was an important leader of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela. (Psuv), now detained.
The officials are accused of “appropriation or distraction of public property, boasting or use of relationships or influences, money laundering and association, and treason,” the prosecutor said during a conference on March 25.
Several of the defendants proceeded “to carry out parallel oil operations” to those of PDVSA through “crude loads on ships (…) without any type of administrative control,” Saab explained.
In the midst of the purge, Tareck El Aissami resigned on March 21, the until then powerful oil minister, sanctioned by the United States.
Until now, the amount of the embezzlement has not been revealed because the investigation is in the first phase, but press reports place it at at least 3,000 million dollars. The pro-government deputy Hermann Escarrá spoke of up to 23,000 million, although he later denied that version.
The defendants face sentences of 25 to 30 years, prosecutor Tarek William Saab told AFP. The maximum sentence in Venezuela is 30 years.
In addition, “the assets seized from the crime pass into the hands of the State,” said Saab, who did not rule out more arrests while the investigations progress.
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