In the latest episode of the Tubazos program, Venezuelan journalist Eligio Rojas discussed the recent arrest in the United Kingdom of Italian citizen Alessandro Bazzoni, 53, accused of being linked to the corruption ring known as PDVSA-Cripto. This fraudulent operation, estimated to have caused a loss of over $5.55 billion to Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), involved high-ranking government officials and international businessmen.
Bazzoni is identified as a close associate of Colonel Antonio Pérez Suárez, who held the post of Vice President of PDVSA during the tenure of Tareck El Aissami at the state oil company and Ministry of Petroleum. According to Rojas, Bazzoni is married to a high-ranking official of a Swiss bank, Siri Evjemo-Nysveen, who allegedly collaborated on the illegal business dealings of the entrepreneur.
Autocrat Nicolás Maduro is responsible for the looting of PDVSA
The journalist also revealed that Bazzoni had created multiple companies in Malta, United Kingdom, Mexico, and United Arab Emirates, used to trade Venezuelan oil outside legal channels. These transactions, designed to evade international sanctions, never reported income to the Venezuelan treasury, exacerbating the economic impact of the scheme.
The arrest of Bazzoni in October 2024 was made possible thanks to an Interpol alert issued at the request of Venezuelan authorities. He is currently in the process of extradition, a measure approved by the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela. The Public Prosecutor’s Office seeks to prosecute him in the country for crimes such as money laundering, illegal trafficking of strategic resources, contraband, and conspiracy.