The Zurich-based MBaer Merchant Bank has conducted business with three individuals sanctioned by the United States, including a Russian oligarch, an Italian operator, and a Greek shipowner linked to the Pdvsa-Cripto scheme.
Jaime Garvett | Primer Informe
Viktor Vekselberg is a Russian billionaire born in Ukraine who founded the Renova Group, which has interests in various sectors, including energy, metallurgy, chemicals, and technology.
Forbes estimates his fortune at nearly $6 billion. Vekselberg is considered one of the oligarchs closest to the Kremlin and has been accused of engaging in illicit activities such as bank fraud and money laundering.
The United States sanctioned Vekselberg in 2018, along with other Russian oligarchs, for his role in “malign activities” threatening the security and democracy of the United States and its allies.
Among the activities the U.S. accuses Moscow of are interference in the 2016 elections, the annexation of Crimea, support for Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime, and human rights violations.
The sanctions included the freezing of Vekselberg’s assets and a prohibition on conducting business with U.S. entities.
While Vekselberg is not directly linked to the so-called Pdvsa-Cripto corruption scheme, he shares common ground with other operators in this fraudulent scheme through their use of the same financial institution for international transactions: MBaer Merchant Bank, based in Frankfurt.
READ ALSO: The Swiss-Emirati Connection in Pdvsa Corruption
Alessandro Bazzoni, on the other hand, was sanctioned in 2021 for his involvement in a corrupt oil network in Venezuela that aimed to evade sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Nicolás Maduro’s government.
In connection with U.S. sanctions against Bazzoni, the Treasury Department blacklisted six oil tankers and 14 companies, all related to Bazzoni and his associates.
The sanctions did not halt the outflow of oil from Venezuela, and Bazzoni’s role in the scheme became more prominent in the latter half of 2020 through the end of 2022, as he took shipments through his companies and distributed the cargoes to new interested parties.
The Greek shipowner, George Moundreas, a partner of Bazzoni and who is alleged to have been part of the corruption network at Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (Pdvsa), is under investigation for his close ties with Colonel José Antonio Pérez Suárez, former Vice President of Commerce and Supply at Pdvsa, who was arrested in an anti-corruption raid in Venezuela. He allegedly profited millions from illicit Venezuelan oil operations.
READ ALSO: The Pdvsa-Cripto Scandal Reaches Miami
This scam occurred during 2021 and 2022, not only bankrupting many small and medium-sized businesses but also leading to a severe food shortage in the country, affecting all Venezuelans and destabilizing the national economy.
Both Moundreas and Bazzoni are currently implicated in promoting the illicit trafficking of strategic materials and financing terrorism according to Article 34 of the Organized Crime Law.
The most emblematic vessel used by Bazzoni and Moundreas in the fraudulent scheme is the MT Nikel. This ship not only transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Venezuelan crude oil to international clients—violating U.S. sanctions against Pdvsa—but also ceased paying invoices for the shipments in an illicit agreement with Colonel Pérez Suárez. When the Pdvsa-Cripto scandal erupted last March, the MT Nikel, which was in Venezuelan waters, simply lifted its anchor and left the country without clearance, leaving the entire invoice unpaid to Pdvsa for the oil on board.
All these sanctioned and accused operators have relied financially on the MBaer Merchant Bank, founded by Mike Baer, one of the heirs of the Julius Baer Bank fortune.
[email protected]
If you want to receive this and other news from Venezuela and the world on your mobile, download Telegram, go to the link https://t.me/primerinforme and click on +Join.
If you liked the article, share it
More news about
Alessandro Bazzoni or similar.