Following the two arrests of operators in Spain and Greece involved in the massive embezzlement from Venezuelan state-owned companies, the judicial net tightens against those included in the list of accused individuals by prosecutor 73 of Venezuela, including Alessandro Bazzoni, José Luis Chávez Calva, and Joaquín Leal Jiménez. So far, two individuals have been detained: Jesús Vergara Betancourt and Erik Roveta.
Jaime Garvett | Primer Informe
The legal action against the select group of operators responsible for the international maneuvers in the Pdvsa-Crypto scheme from capitals such as London, Dubai, Mexico, and Zurich is tightening with the issuance of new arrest warrants before international police organizations like Interpol and Europol.
To date, two individuals have been arrested, with extradition requests filed in courts in Spain and Greece, to appear in Venezuela for their involvement in the multimillion-dollar embezzlement from Pdvsa and other state-owned companies.
The first of these operators, Jesús Vergara Betancourt, was arrested on September 5 by Spanish authorities upon his arrival at Madrid’s Barajas Airport on a flight from the Dominican Republic.
Vergara had previously been detained in Venezuela on charges of participating in the Pdvsa-Crypto corruption scheme and was released while investigations continued. He allegedly fled to Santo Domingo and remained there until he believed he could travel safely to Spain, according to a judicial source related to the case.
On October 4, a month after his arrest, the regime’s Supreme Court officially approved the extradition request for Vergara to Spain, citing his involvement in a scheme for selling crude oil to China, during which he improperly appropriated approximately US$40 million.
According to the TSJ ruling, Vergara and his partners used shell companies and fraudulent mechanisms to avoid paying the bulk of the debt to Pdvsa. Betancourt claimed he was forced to make deductions due to delays in the delivery of crude oil, alleged poor product quality, penalties for wait times, and other administrative costs.
The extradition process is currently being ratified in Spain, according to judicial sources.
ALSO READ: Two groups of Chavista operators owe more than US$4 billion to Pdvsa
Three weeks after the arrest of Vergara Betancourt in Spain, another key operator involved in the multimillion-dollar Pdvsa-Crypto scheme was detained.
This concerns Italian financial operator Erik Roveta, who is also implicated in the corruption with Pdvsa and is a key associate of Joaquín Leal Jiménez, Alessandro Bazzoni, and Colonel Antonio Pérez Suárez.
Roveta was arrested in the early morning of September 26 by police in Athens, where he resided.
According to the indictment against Roveta in the 73rd Prosecutor’s Office regarding money laundering in Caracas, “the citizen Erik Roveta is part of the illicit shipping operators who purchase from the company North Star Maritime Holding LTD (NSMHL) identification and transponder devices (AIS) of decommissioned ships found in scrapyards in India and Pakistan, to replace them on other vessels loading oil in Venezuelan ports, and after departure, change their identification and turn off the transponder to take possession of the cargo, selling it for personal gain, defrauding the legitimate owners.”
Roveta has been charged with money laundering, trafficking in strategic materials, and conspiracy. According to investigations, the operator participated in a total of 163 buy-sell operations of Venezuelan crude intended for China and other destinations in Asia.
His operations, particularly his connection to compatriot Alessandro Bazzoni, sanctioned by OFAC in 2021, are under scrutiny by federal authorities linked to the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury, who are collecting and expanding information and names that have emerged in recent days from the allegations of the corruption scandal shaking the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Pdvsa and the high ranks of Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
“The Italian oil broker, Erik Roveta, in partnership with Joaquín Leal Jiménez, currently with an arrest warrant, is responsible for perpetuating the embezzlement of Pdvsa between 2020 and 2022 for over 21 billion dollars,” stated a judicial source linked to the case.
“Roveta benefited by using the Swiss banking platform MBaer Merchant Bank owned by Michael Baer, former director of Julius Baer Bank,” he added.
The connection between Roveta and MBaer Merchant Bank occurred through executive Siri Evjemo-Nysveen, wife of Alessandro Bazzoni and vice president of the bank’s board of directors, who was later removed from her position for her involvement in the Pdvsa-Crypto scandal.
Roveta is a broker who served as a technical manager and owns several specialized companies, such as Sernavimar SRL and Axione Chartering OU, among others, which are also under investigation.
Authorities from the Venezuelan regime sent the extradition request for Roveta to Greece, where he remains detained without bail in Athens.
Judicial sources indicated that a series of arrest requests have been sent to Interpol and the police of the European community for the initiation of detention procedures for Joaquín Leal Jiménez in Mexico, Alessandro Bazzoni in London and Lugano, Switzerland, and José Luis Chávez Calva in Dubai, due to their links to the Pdvsa-Crypto scheme.
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Source: The net tightens against international operators of the Pdvsa-Crypto scheme – Primer Informe