New information continues to emerge regarding Banca Privada D’Andorra (BPA), labeled a “primary money laundering concern” by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The latest report reveals how Eudomario Carruyo, the financial vice president of Petróleos de Venezuela, instructed BPA Serveis (led by Higini Cierco) to set up a shell company in Panama named Bilford Investment Inc.
As VP Finance, Carruyo had control over PDV Insurance Company Ltd. in Bermuda (graph from Neo4j / ICIJ). He authorized around 330 million euros in insurance contracts to a company called I.S.B. SOCIEDAD DE CORRETAJE DE REASEGUROS C.A., which is managed by Omar Farias (who was arrested for fraud in the Dominican Republic). Luis Zabala and Luis Mariano Rodríguez Cabello were also involved in the deal. Zabala and Rodríguez Cabello would, in turn, cede shares in I.S.B. to Calabria Overseas S.A., which is controlled by Diego Salazar (a cousin of PDVSA’s CEO who was arrested for fraud in Venezuela).
I.S.B. acted as an intermediary between PDV Insurance Company Ltd. and the London-based broker Cooper Gay, whose Colombian subsidiary was subcontracted for some policies.
Bilford, under Carruyo, received over $28 million in kickback payments via Panama’s Highland Asset Corp. and several other firms controlled by Farias and Salazar. Evidence of all these payments is part of an ongoing corruption investigation in Andorra (image).
Some individuals being investigated for “significant money laundering” in Andorra are either detained or wanted fugitives, such as former official Javier Alvarado Ochoa. The majority of the executive entourage of Rafael Ramírez at PDVSA has been arrested in Venezuela due to new corruption investigations initiated by Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who also initiated a criminal investigation against Rafael Ramírez (reportedly a fugitive hiding in Italy).
A few years ago, another investigation kicked off when Salazar transferred a tip of 99,800 euros to a hotel employee in Paris. This led to authorities freezing around $200 million that Salazar had at BPA at that time. Salazar hired former French Prime Minister Dominic de Villepin to advocate with Andorran authorities. BPA also reacted to the confiscation of Salazar’s $200 million and hired Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón. Ultimately, due to the silence of the Venezuelan Attorney General (Luisa Ortega Díaz) concerning the letters rogatory, Salazar managed to recover his funds.
Leaked documents later exposed a scheme to divert $4.2 billion from PDVSA. PDVSA’s CEO, Rafael Ramírez, was directly involved in approving the deal through attorney Nervis Villalobos (who was arrested in Spain on charges of corruption and money laundering).