By Maibort Petit
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of Malta (FIAU) is a government agency responsible for collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating information to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. This office was established in response to the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act. Currently, it is closely investigating the management of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking officials due to allegations of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars from governmental funds that are said to have been transferred to a Maltese firm between late 2014 and early 2015, according to official documents presented in a Miami court where a recent criminal lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The documents indicate that substantial funds designated for the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. may have been siphoned off through a sophisticated corruption scheme.
The company in question is Portmann Capital Management Limited — a matter that had been kept under strict secrecy — as indicated by investigations from sources involved in monitoring the Maltese financial services industry. This investment company, registered under No. C 51740, is located at “Il-Piazzetta” B-73, Tower Road, Sliema, SLM1605, Malta. Its phone numbers are 27333290 and 27333291, and its email address is [email protected]. The company is owned by Swiss financial advisors Kurt and Yves-Alaine Portmann, who are listed as its directors, according to the Finance Malta portal and investigations conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which also identifies Vincent Camilleri as secretary, director, and legal representative; Ernst & Young Malta Limited as its auditor; and XPCT Limited as a shareholder.
FIAU’s investigation into the firm began in 2017, as reported by local Maltese media, uncovering a series of irregularities. Portmann Capital Management Limited was fined €350,000 by the agency. Nonetheless, insiders noted that at that time, there was no awareness of the alleged Venezuelan scam. Nicolás Maduro has not been identified or implicated in the documents circulated in the U.S. court so far. Mentions of the president have come from media sources citing their informants who mention the president, members of his administration, and relatives.
The Times of Malta reported that the Maltese firm confirmed to the FIAU that it is the anonymous company referred to in international media as allegedly involved in money laundering on behalf of Nicolás Maduro. Portmann’s representatives mentioned that they learned about the situation through the “commotion” created by media reports.
Concerns from the Maltese Opposition
Political spokespersons from the Maltese opposition have expressed their concerns regarding the information linking Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and several of his officials and relatives to a corruption scheme involving more than €511 million in money laundering. Adrián Delia, a Maltese opposition leader, assessed that the Maltese government was not taking financial services security seriously.
Some Details of the Miami Lawsuit
The criminal lawsuit filed in Miami courts by the Department of Homeland Security concerns the substantial sums allocated by PDVSA through fraudulent contracts that allegedly were legitimized through the aforementioned Maltese company.
The lawsuit mentions names like José Vicente Amparan Croquer, a Venezuelan lawyer frequently referenced in the litigation, whom the U.S. Department of Justice has accused, along with six other Venezuelans, of conspiring to launder embezzled PDVSA funds “using real estate in Miami, Florida, and complex schemes of false investment.” A Homeland Security agent stated in an affidavit that Amparan Croquer is associated with several conspirators and a real estate company that is in fact a money laundering agent. This man is said to have connections with the Maltese firm he used for his money legitimization operations.
Among the documents presented in the Miami court, the name Eaton Capital has also emerged. This is a shell company based in Sliema — a tourist town on the eastern coast of Malta — that maintains links with Portmann Capital Management Limited. Ongoing investigations suggest Eaton Capital plays a fundamental role in the money laundering scheme under investigation by U.S. federal agents.
Portmann Capital insists that it has not structured any fraudulent investments and also denies receiving bribes that are alleged to be around €20 million for its supposed participation in the scam. Documents reviewed in Florida indicate that the Maltese firm received the aforementioned amount — USD 20 million — for laundering money, a total that would equate to 4% of the entire operation.
It also denies knowing the stepchildren of Nicolás Maduro involved in the scheme.
Sources related to the investigation reported that Portmann informed the authorities that it had conducted a thorough review of its records to identify suspicious clients and had flagged those it suspected might have been involved. The accounts were frozen. The Maltese company also reported to authorities about the sums of money moved in electronic transfers.
What has proven significant to the authorities at the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of Malta is that Portmann Capital Management Limited continues to deny that any of its clients are linked to PDVSA, a claim that contradicts investigatory findings. Informative sources indicated that the firm admitted that a Venezuelan lawyer — José Vicente Amparan Croquer — was indeed a client of Portmann.
The FIAU had previously investigated Portmann Capital Management Limited and uncovered several irregularities regarding due client identification, their assets, and controls over them, among other issues. It estimated — and communicated this to the firm, resulting in a fine — that it lacked adequate risk assessment and management procedures.
When the legal action in the United States became known, Maltese authorities urged the bank to halt all transactions of all its clients, while also requesting a declaration of assets and funds owned by the company in question.
The Scheme
Meanwhile, federal investigations in the United States are known as Operation Money Flight, which began as an inquiry into savings of the defendants amounting to USD 78 million, but with connections led to discovering a much more sophisticated corruption scheme that originated in 2014.
Authorities believed they uncovered an alleged conspiracy involving operations that allowed the embezzlement of $600 million through the currency control system prevailing in Venezuela, stemming from PDVSA via bribery and fraudulent contracts.
One of the involved parties eventually became a confidential informant for the investigations.
Investigators determined that by May 2015, the embezzled funds amounted to USD 1.200 million.
[1] Malta Financial Services Authority. Portmann Capital Management Limited. file:///C:/Users/home/Downloads/WS%20-%20Portmann%20Capital%20Management%20Limited.pdf
[2] Finance Malta. Portmann Capital Management Ltd. https://www.financemalta.org/member/893/
[3] The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Offshore Leaks Database. Portmann Capital Management Limited. https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/55046381
[4] Times of Malta. “Portmann heard of alleged Venezuelan racket from media”. August 19, 2018. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180819/business-news/portmann-heard-of-alleged-venezuelan-racket-from-media.687065
[5] Times of Malta. “Venezuelan president’s alleged Malta money laundering ‘worrying’”. August 14, 2018. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180814/local/venezuelan-presidents-alleged-malta-money-laundering-worrying-pn.686824
[6] Dateas. Amparan Croquer José Vicente. https://www.dateas.com/es/persona_venezuela/amparan-croquer-jose-vicente-10219910
[7] Prodavinci. “Siete venezolanos acusados de lavar dinero malversado de PDVSA”. July 28, 2018. https://prodavinci.com/siete-venezolanos-acusados-de-lavar-dinero-malversado-de-pdvsa/
[8] Times of Malta. “FIAU probed Malta firm in Venezuelan funds racket”. August 19, 2018. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180819/local/fiau-probed-malta-firm-in-venezuelan-funds-racket.687058#.W3q458xsQhU.twitter