Jorge Cañas (Vzla ID no. 8.540.342) is mentioned as the Sales Manager (Marketing Manager) of Venezuela’s iron producer, Ferrominera del Orinoco (FMO).
Freddy Castellanos (Vzla ID no. 4.883.936) is a metallurgical engineer who worked at FMO until August 2003 [see here indefinitely].
Crown Venture claims to be a “global trading company registered with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Oslo, and Caracas.” There is a Crown Venture Limited registered in Hong Kong (company number 1128011). It is a company with a capital of 10,000 HKD (fully owned by Amoy Trading PTE. Limited of Singapore), with its director being CV Services Limited, based in the Cook Islands [see here]. Crown Venture also has a registration in Oslo (no. 995 957 086), where it appears as one of several subsidiaries of Hjalmar Røed & Co AS, owned/operated by Morten Frode Riis, whose other subsidiary, Panamax Bulk AS, declared bankruptcy. indefinido. Unsurprisingly, Panamax Bulk AS and Crown Venture are registered at the same address in Oslo. There is no record of Crown Venture in Venezuelan registries.
Juhua Group is the largest chemical industry in China’s Zhejiang province.
In another communication, Fernando Campbell and Astrup Fearnley are copied from the Norwegian representative in Caracas. Since both Panamax Bulk AS and Crown Venture are mere fronts for intermediaries, perhaps Fernando Campbell from Astrup Fearnley was hired to manage the maritime side of things. Or maybe that was part of Morten Frode Riis’s deal.
In any case, just by observing the murky structure leading to Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Panama, Australia, Cook Islands, Venezuela, and Oslo, one can infer where it’s headed. In later communications, Castellanos instructs Hodgins on what needs to be done to finalize the deal, as well as requests payment from Hodgins of $2,309,978.92 in commissions to be distributed among FMO staff and himself.
The payment was to be made to BAC Florida Bank, Account Number: 937-959-820, ABA: 067009044, SWIFT: BFLBUS3M, in the name of: “Societe Partry, S.A.”.
Castellanos sent Hodgins, as a representative of Crown Venture Ltd, an invoice from Societe Partry SA with a false address in Caracas. Partry is a registered company in Panama, whose representatives Ana Luisa Amengual, Mercedes McCarthy, and Francisco Ramírez are directors of hundreds of companies and all share the same address in Miami, according to records.
A couple of bank transfers (payment of commissions) are evidenced in the leaked documents: one from HSBC Hong Kong, acc. no. 168-313013-838, dated 07/01/2008, to the account of Societe Partry at BAC Florida Bank for $426,939; another dated July 24, 2009, from Crown Venture Limited’s account at DBS Bank Limited in Singapore, for $381,571.58.
Castellano’s influence over FMO’s business decisions is evident when he writes to Hodgins:
As you can see in the FMO message, they also include the authorization letter for your company to promote and sell FMO’s iron ore in the Chinese market this year and next. This will help you with your conversations with Beitai Group and other Chinese steel mills.
But Hodgins’ position is also interesting, considering that he was then set to work for Fortescue. Was he negotiating on the side, or was Fortescue involved in bribing Venezuelans for the iron ore purchase?
According to Junhua, corruption among Chinese companies is rampant and widely known around the world. There is hardly a market that corrupt Chinese haven’t been able to crack, whether by fair means or foul.
And what to make of the fact that HSBC Hong Kong didn’t realize the dubious setup of Hodgins and that of the beneficiary of the transfers, Societe Partry? In one of the emails, it appears that at least four transfers in 2008 (dates 01/07, 01/08, 27/08, and 09/10 undefined) were made to Castellanos through HSBC (as seen in the case of Mexican narcos and many other scandals, HSBC’s strong suit is not exactly strict compliance with anti-money laundering rules (undefined). In the same email, it is identified that Metalloyd of London (Reuben bros) bought around 447 metric tons of iron ore from FMO between January and July 2008.
I sent emails requesting comments from some parties involved in this corruption plot. No one has responded. Another case of rampant corruption involving high-ranking chavista authorities and foreign companies, with individuals more than happy to participate in illegal activities to make quick money in Venezuela.