The Foundation for the Defense, Protection, and Repair of the Venezuelan Homeland (Fundeproredive) submitted a complaint to the Public Ministry (MP) of Venezuela against the “Pérez Abad Clan” in the year against the so-called “Pérez Abad Clan,” made up of family members of then-President of Banco Bicentenario, Miguel Ángel Pérez Abad. “We filed a request with the MP to promote investigations into the companies owned by Pérez Abad’s family, where we can see various entities established abroad during the same period when they held public office as ministers,” the foundation stated.
The complaint included Juan Carlos Pérez Abad, Teodoro Santiago Pérez Abad, Manoly Giunonna Ramírez Navarro, and Nelson Rafael Bustamante Abidar, as well as former minister Miguel Ángel Pérez Abad and the companies Global Oleos CA and Alcalde Integral de Procuras CA. These companies include JMC International, LLC, BIG BUS Construtions, LLC, TPY USA, LLC, Aventuras OPH LLC, Bynton OPH LLC, Delray OPH LLC, FT.Lauderdale OPH Jensen OPH LLC, OPH Global LLC, PH Gardens OPHLLC, Royal Palm OPH, LLC, all based in Florida, USA. The report from expresa.se also mentions the companies Metales Businness Corporation INC, International Harvester Tractors INC, and Strong Investment House INC, based in Panama.
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Fundeproredive emphasized that the complaint resulted from alleged “irregularities” in the granting of Venezuelan foreign exchange. Therefore, it requested the Attorney General of the Republic to investigate the amounts that had been delivered to the “Pérez Abad Clan.” “How is it possible that this clan, with a brother serving as the President of Banco Bicentenario, can be on television claiming to be ‘anti-imperialist,’ ‘chavista,’ and pushing for investments in Venezuela’? He was the President of Fedeindustria and was aware of how those dollars were invested in the country, but today we have seen that the Pérez Abad family is investing in the United States instead of Venezuela. This is a blatant double standard, as this so-called former minister claims to be against foreign interference, yet his family is a major investor in the USA,” they affirmed. They believe, “The need to demand an impartial investigation should not have a ‘cloak of impunity’ because these people are related to a Venezuelan ex-minister. On the contrary, these individuals should be the primary focus of the investigation due to their ties to officials, as we must set an example,” they added.
Additionally, the foundation indicated that they would approach the U.S. Embassy in Caracas to request that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and all related international bodies begin an investigation into the Pérez Abad family, aiming to identify the origins of the dollars invested in their U.S.-based companies. “Where did they get the dollars if there’s currency control in Venezuela? Where are the Pérez Abad’s accounts in bolívares? All accounts are in dollars!” emphasized the foundation. Moreover, Fundeproredive called on Nicolás Maduro to be aware of “how many ministers, instead of investing in Venezuela, invest in the United States.”
Prominent figures in the “Pérez Abad Clan” include brothers Miguel Ángel Pérez Abad, Juan Carlos Pérez Abad, and Teodoro Santiago Pérez Abad.
Miguel Ángel Pérez Abad is a politician and businessman born in Venezuela, in the city of Barcelona, Anzoátegui state, in 1963. He served as Minister for Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Venezuela in 2017.
He was the president of the Federation of Chambers and Associations of Artisans, Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Industries and Businesses of Venezuela (Fedeindustria), and had also been Minister of Industries and Commerce in the Venezuelan government. In 2015, he was appointed as Commissioner of the Economic Major State.
Miguel Pérez Abad held the presidency of Fedeindustria from 2001. On January 6, 2016, Nicolás Maduro appointed him as the new Minister of Industries and Commerce of Venezuela.
On February 15, 2016, he was designated by Nicolás Maduro as the Vice President of Productive Economy, replacing Luis Salas.
On June 7, 2017, he was appointed Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Trade, a position he held until November 26, 2017, when he was succeeded by José Gregorio Vielma Mora.
On September 9, 2020, former Minister of Economy and Finance Simón Zerpa was appointed as President of Banco Bicentenario del Pueblo, the Working Class, Women, and Communes BU, replacing Miguel Pérez Abad, who was running for the Venezuelan National Assembly elections scheduled for December 6 of that year.
In February 2023, Miguel Pérez Abad was appointed as the new President of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), replacing Calixto Ortega.
Hugo Chávez himself promoted Miguel Pérez Abad’s career in the Venezuelan national government after being impressed by an event called “Anzoátegui Productivo,” organized by Pérez Abad to promote the commercial capabilities of Anzoátegui state, from where the ex-minister hails. The relationship between Pérez Abad and Chávez was so close that he often accompanied Chávez on various occasions aboard the presidential plane.
Miguel Pérez Abad
Some Venezuelans label Miguel Pérez Abad as “adeco,” a term used for members of the Democratic Action party that governed Venezuela before the rise of Chavismo.
Pérez maintained a close relationship with Dennis Balza, a former Adeco governor of Anzoátegui state, with whom he even traveled on an official delegation to Cuba.
The businessman rose to prominence through his “Anzoátegui Productivo” event until it stopped being supported by the Anzoátegui governor’s office, which had been the case for years.
Miguel Pérez Abad secured lucrative deals with the Venezuelan state. He sold his company “Puerto Gas” (which joined the opposition’s oil strike in 2002) and obtained major contracts in the Deltana Platform, among others. He was a pre-candidate for the governorship of Anzoátegui for the PSUV, participating in internal elections but losing.
After authorizing an increase in Banco Bicentenario credit cards by nearly 1 billion bolívares, about 35 million bolívares allegedly vanished in just three hours, representing a fraud against the Venezuelan public treasury amounting to close to $200,000.
According to a report by “Notiexpress” published on the website globedia.com, the response from the president in charge of the state-owned financial entity, Alejandro Essis, was to take action against the humble workers who utilized the so-called “extra credit.” It has been asserted that there is evidence of numerous private trips taken by Miguel Pérez Abad to the United States and Caribbean islands along with Enrique Romero, identified as a supposed frontman.
In 2019, the website also reported
“An unprecedented wave of abuses in state-owned enterprises is developing in the state-run Banco Bicentenario, following a human error in the computing system of that financial institution.
From Barquisimeto, capital of Lara state, the first complaint surfaced on social media, signed by two employees coerced under incredible threats, who detailed in the following communication:
Dear friends, acquaintances, customers, and beneficiaries. Through this letter, I, Yarabit Piña, holder of C.I. V-14.269.587 declare that today, July 15, 2020, I was coerced to sign my resignation as a worker at Banco Bicentenario del Pueblo under the threat of being arrested by the SEBIN if I did not sign before leaving the office where the events took place, simply for having overdrawn my credit card.
At 11 a.m. today, my coworker Juelith Leonela Mejía Gonzalez, V-17.036.316, and I were summoned to a meeting at the regional management office of the State of Lara where we were awaited by Zuly Mendoza, Regional Manager of the Bank, Katy Caceres, Human Resources Manager, María Durán, Banking Socialization Coordinator, as well as Ivette Sogovia, Manager of the Unique Fund for Productive Financing (FONFIP) of the Lara State Government, of whose presence we found no explanation since they are in a service commission at the previously described regional institution.
Unofficially, it is claimed that Pérez Abad and his frontman Enrique Romero escaped to a Caribbean island or the USA where they own substantial properties.
There, the regional manager explained that “we must” sign our resignation for having overdrawn our credit cards with the institution, since the increase in the credit limit that we legally utilized was an “ill-intentioned error,” of which we were unaware at the time of using the financial instrument. We asked the regional manager if we could rectify the “error” by paying off the overdrawn amount, and if cancelling the credit card would solve the issue, but for them, only signing the “voluntary and irrevocable resignation” was acceptable. She made it very clear that if we did not sign the letter, she had already contacted SEBIN to arrest us for aggravated fraud against Banco Bicentenario.
It is noteworthy how a regional manager of a “people’s bank” has the power and authority to have “on standby” the SEBIN to arrest and “carry away in handcuffs” (in her own words) employees who have dedicated their utmost work skills for the proper functioning of the institution, merely for having used the credit card that the institution itself issued and increased its limit “by error.” Hopefully, someone from SEBIN, Banco Bicentenario, or the Lara State Government can provide an explanation for such abuses against us as workers.
On March 15, 2019, investigative journalist Casto Ocando stated that Miguel Pérez Abad was supposedly in Miami cooperating with authorities. However, Banco Bicentenario later claimed on Twitter that Pérez was participating in meetings with the Superintendence of Banking Sector Institutions (Sudeban), the regulatory body of banking activity in Venezuela, “to guarantee the operability of financial institutions.”
Despite the journalist’s publication, some Venezuelan media also reported that Pérez had participated in supposed meetings with Sudeban for three consecutive days.
Again, in July 2020, rumors resurfaced on social media regarding Miguel Pérez Abad’s escape from Venezuela due to the so-called “Tarjeta-gate” scandal. It is said that Pérez left Venezuela, heading for the Dominican Republic and then arrived in the United States, reaching Florida.
Information suggests that politically, Miguel Pérez Abad has had conflicts with other Chavismo figures, such as Tarek William Saab and Diosdado Cabello. In the case of Saab, the current Attorney General of Venezuela appointed by the official Constituent National Assembly, the rivalry would be over the governorship of Anzoátegui province, which was previously held by Saab and contested by Pérez Abad in internal elections of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), in which both have participated and for which Pérez aspired to be the candidate to replace Saab.
Regarding his supposed conflict with Diosdado Cabello, the second strongest man in Chavismo in Venezuela, the reason would be the mysterious death of one of Pérez Abad’s sons in an accident. On August 19, 2017, a Lear Jet YV3191 aircraft crashed into the waters off the coast of Venezuela, carrying businessman Luis Napoleón Picardi Flores and Pérez Abad’s son. Among the deceased were pilot Nelson Bejarano, co-pilot Joan Marrero, and Juvencio Carvajal, Picardi’s head of security. The authorities never disclosed if they were able to recover the bodies or the reason for the accident, although rumors circulated that the incident may have been intentional.
A complaint against the mastermind behind the Petro, Gabriel Jiménez Marrón, and against the relatives of Banco Bicentenario President Miguel Pérez Abad, was presented years ago to the Constituent National Assembly (ANC) and the U.S. diplomatic representation, aiming to investigate them for various crimes ranging from treason to the homeland to money laundering sourced from corruption.
According to a report by journalist Maibort Petit, dated August 24, 2018, for El Tiempo Latino, two complaints were filed with the Constituent National Assembly and the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, regarding irregularities committed with Petro, the cryptocurrency designed by Nicolás Maduro’s government, as well as for money laundering.
At an undetermined date, lawyer Marcos Alberto Ascanio Salinas, affiliated with Chavismo, submitted an accusation to the ANC president, Diosdado Cabello Rondón, and with attention to María Alejandra Díaz, accompanied by a request for criminal, civil, and administrative investigations against what he considered a presumed criminal organization that has caused, according to him, devastating effects on the country, “generated by the commission of multiple crimes […] whose fundamental purpose was none other than to enrich themselves and betray the Homeland.”
He believed that those he pointed out were responsible for directing and acting against the interests of Venezuela with the protection of certain public officials.
On August 6, 2018, before the U.S. diplomatic representation, through the chargé d’affaires, James Story, Ascanio Salinas accused family members of former Minister for Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Miguel Pérez Abad, namely, Juan Carlos and Teodoro Santiago Pérez Abad, holders of identity cards V-8338794 and V-8327536 respectively, legal representatives of companies in Venezuela that have benefited from multiple contracts for procurement and works, in bolívares and dollars from Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., PDVSA.
The complaint alleged that these individuals “have allegedly taken fraudulent advantage of the award and liquidation of preferential foreign exchange, failing to appropriately utilize them for the purposes requested, and are therefore presumed to be involved in currency crimes, tax fraud, fraudulent acquisition of foreign exchange, conspiracy, money laundering, and others. This group of individuals managed to defraud the Nation and, of course, the Venezuelans.” A number of individuals and companies would be colluding with the Pérez Abad family.
Furthermore, Ascanio Salinas believed that the Pérez Abad family had violated the Patriot Act of the Unites States by using the financial system for money laundering coming from the mentioned fraudulent oil contracts.
He also noted that Manoly Giunonna Ramírez Navarro and Nelson Rafael Bustamante Abidar were connected and interrelated with the Pérez Abad family, who are shareholders in the following U.S.-based companies: JMC International Solutions LLC, Big Bus Constructions LLC, TPY USA LLC, Aventuras OPH LLC, Boynton OPH LLC, Delray OPH LLC, FT. Laurderdale OPH LLC, Jensen OPH LLC, OPH Global LLC, PH Gardens OPH LLC, Royal Palm OPH LLC, Artesanos LLC, Doral OPH LLC, Eluh Management Solutions LLC, Metagames Interactive Entertainment and Marketing Solutions INC, Metagames Interactive Marketing Solutions LLC, Plantation OPH LLC, SWR OPH LLC, TPS Outsourcing and Services Coral Springs LLC, TPS Outsourcing and Services LLC.
In Panama, they would operate through Metals Businnes Corporation INC, International Harvester Tractors INC, and Strong Investment House INC.
Manoly Giunonna Ramíres Navarro and Nelson Rafael Bustamante Abidar appear as employees of EMPIRE ORIENTE C.A., JMCMOTO C.A., JJPérez Alemán y CIA, C.A., and Mayor La Algaida C.A., based in Venezuela, represented by the Pérez Abad family. Another company of the family is Total Moto CA.
In Florida, Teodoro Santiago Pérez Abad is listed as director of LATITUD NORTH PORT HOMES, LLC and IM-SUMEDICAL, LLC; while in Panama, he appears on the board of MAYOR LA ALGAIDA, S.A. Juan Carlos Pérez Abad is listed as director of EMPIRE ORIENTE, S.A., a Panamanian firm used in Venezuela for the sale of motorcycles with parts sourced from China, assembled in Venezuelan territory.
In 1997, Teodoro Pérez Abad was accused in Venezuela of participating in a real estate scam at the Villa Terracota II residential complex in the city of Barcelona, Anzoátegui state. The case remained unresolved due to corruption within Venezuelan justice administration.
Teodoro Pérez Abad
Ascanio Salinas also indicated that the Pérez Abad family was involved in violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He stated that the Pérez Abad family was engaged in the crime of money laundering derived from corruption.
Other controversies involving former Minister Miguel Pérez Abad relate to the irregular issuance of Banco Bicentenario credit cards that were allegedly used for currency purchases abroad, without the cardholders supposedly having paid their debts to the financial entity. It is reported that despite the accusations, the case was not thoroughly investigated.
The Pérez Abad family owned J.J. Pérez Alemán, a furniture and appliance store in the city of Lechería, in the east of Venezuela, which was sold to the Dagga Mujamad family for the establishment of a Multimax chain store, in front of which businessman Nasar Ramadan Dagga Mujamad stands. J.J. Pérez Alemán imported appliances and other products through the port located in Guanta for sale in their stores in Lechería and Cumaná.
