Evidence has emerged that Derwick Associates paid bribes to Nervis Villalobos through Banca Privada D’Andorra. On January 14, 2010, the parties entered into a “Consulting and Advisory Services Agreement” between Derwick Associates Corp. and INGESPRE (Nervis Villalobos’ vehicle). The contract’s preamble suggests that Derwick Associates is a foreign company “that has an office in Venezuela and wishes to conduct more business there.” Additionally, it states that Derwick Associates “wants to obtain the Services of the consultant, and the consultant is willing to provide such services to the company exclusively.”
Since the parties also agreed to be governed by the “laws of England and Wales,” they are subject to the UK’s Bribery Act.
Elsewhere, INGESPRE commits to delivering “a minimum of one (1) project every 6 months,” while explicitly waiving the rights granted by the UK Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999: under Various (J-7) “The terms of this agreement may only be enforced by one party, and the operation of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 is excluded.”
The “consulting agreement” came into the hands of Banca Privada D’Andorra as justification for the payments made by the parties.
INGESPRE (Villalobos’ fictitious company for all intents and purposes) was crucial for securing acquisition contracts for Derwick Associates. But its role didn’t stop there. An employee of Villalobos, Luis Alejandro Rivero García, introduced most Venezuelan clients to Banca Privada D’Andorra. The Andorran money laundering firm would then provide all sorts of offshore services, through its subsidiary BPA Serveis, to its Venezuelan clients. Higini Cierco Noguer shared executive positions on the board of Banca Privada D’Andorra with his brother Ramón Cierco Noguer, and also chaired BPA Serveis, the offshore service provider similar to Mossack-Fonseca.
One of those clients introduced by Villalobos’ agent is the current Venezuelan ambassador to the UK, Rocío Maneiro. Maneiro instructed Banca Privada D’Andorra to open two bank accounts: one for a vehicle named Valdon and the other for another shell company called Africa Master. The accounts controlled by Maneiro received payments from a shell company called High Advisory, which in turn was controlled by Diego Salazar Carreño, another client of Banca Privada D’Andorra and a cousin of Rafael Ramírez, former CEO of Petróleos de Venezuela and Minister of Energy of Venezuela.
Requests for comments have been sent to Derwick Associates, Ambassador Rocío Maneiro, Ramón Cierco Noguer, and others. No response has been received.
To be continued…