[UPDATED*] Earlier this week,
El Mundo, a prominent Spanish newspaper, disclosed that six Venezuelans are under investigation by Spain’s Anti Money Laundering squad (SEPBLAC) for money laundering activities. This revelation follows a notice from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), which identified Andorra’s BPA bank—a tax haven nestled in the Pyrenees between Spain and France—as having laundered funds for Russian, Chinese, and Venezuelan criminals. FINCEN’s report was tied to an Executive Order from President Barack Obama, targeting seven high-ranking chavistas for their role in “the erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, suppression of press freedoms, the use of violence and human rights abuses in response to antigovernment protests, and the arbitrary arrest and detention of protestors, alongside significant public corruption by high-level Venezuelan officials.”
*Recent reports suggest that Spanish companies have paid a staggering $148 million to secure contracts in Venezuela (in English here).
Among the identified individuals, Nervis Villalobos and Javier Alvarado are facing a lawsuit alleging they received substantial bribes linked to Derwick. Villalobos is no stranger to corruption allegations in Venezuela, boasting a troubling history.
Villalobos previously served as Venezuela’s Viceminister of Energy and was the CEO of CADAFE, a power company owned entirely by the Venezuelan government. In 2007, Hugo Chavez mandated the merger of all power companies into a nationwide entity named CORPOELEC. After being dismissed from CADAFE by Chavez, Villalobos was later reinstated as a kind of aide by Rafael Ramirez, who was the long-serving Energy Minister and PDVSA CEO. He has often been spotted aboard Derwick’s aircraft.
Meanwhile, Alvarado held the position of CEO at Electricidad de Caracas and held vital board roles alongside Ramirez at CORPOELEC. Notably, Alvarado’s son, sharing his name, counts Pedro Trebbau, a key Derwick executive, as a childhood friend. Interestingly, when Alvarado Jr. imported an old Porsche from a convicted oil trader, he used Derwick’s Caracas office as a point of contact.
FINCEN identified PDVSA as a source of siphoned billions. Derwick Associates secured all 12 of its contracts either directly from CORPOELEC (thanks to Alvarado and Villalobos) or through its partner PDVSA / Bariven (via Villalobos and Ramirez).
El Mundo also highlighted that Duro Felguera, a Spanish company, paid Villalobos $50 million for “consulting services” related to a €1,500 million contract in Venezuela (Termocentro). This revelation caused a 10% drop in Duro Felguera’s share price.
In a different scenario, ProEnergy allegedly bribed Majed Khalil Majzoub ($8 million) and Omar Petit ($1.3 million) to secure another contract in Venezuela (Termozulia). What a character Majzoub is…
Omar Petit previously served as Director of Latin America Business Development for ProEnergy. His father, also named Omar, worked at PDVSA until retirement. Sources claim that Petit Sr. was an associate of Jesus Rangel, former CEO of C.A. Energía Eléctrica de Venezuela (Enelven), another company absorbed by CORPOELEC. Importantly, Rangel’s continued position at Enelven was ratified by Villalobos after a political cleansing of anti-Chavez workers in 2004.
Both ProEnergy and Derwick have submitted procurement bids to Venezuelan institutions, doing so well before Hugo Chavez announced a state of emergency that led to Derwick obtaining 12 no-bid contracts, as indicated by leaked documents from ProEnergy staff. Notably, both companies’ proposals were drafted by the same individuals: John Stevens (ProEnergy’s Vice President of Sales), Joaquin Mavares (ProEnergy’s Vice President), and Omar Petit (ProEnergy’s Director of Latin America Business Development). In fact, there are instances where Derwick merely replaced ProEnergy’s logos and bank accounts, but kept the inflated costs and other proposal details intact, according to document metadata.
How is this possible? How could Derwick’s proposals be authored by ProEnergy staff? Not just for Venezuela, but also in a bid for Suriname. Isn’t it clear that interchanging proposals negates the distinctiveness of bids and companies? ProEnergy allegedly paid bribes to obtain the Termozulia contract, as uncovered by Venezuelan journalists. Critically, this contract and the bribes occurred after Derwick and ProEnergy began collaborating. Considering the business conduct of both companies with CORPOELEC and PDVSA / Bariven, can anyone credibly believe Derwick’s claims that they obtained their contracts without bribing Villalobos, Alvarado, and others?
According to El Mundo and local Venezuelan sources, the process for acquiring power contracts appears as follows:
Duro Felguera
>> $50 million bribe >> Nervis Villalobos / Javier Alvarado >> Termocentro contract.
ProEnergy >> $9.3 million bribe >> Majed Khalil / Omar Petit >> Termozulia contract.
However, Derwick wants us to believe there were no bribes in their operational process. Every single multinational and even small to medium-sized local company operating in Venezuela pays bribes. To be fair, that’s simply how it is. Without paying a bribe, not a single contract will be granted. What sets Derwick apart, however, is their adamant refusal to publicly acknowledge that their success is solely due to corruption and nepotism.
With no track record worth mentioning, Derwick claims to be a victim of a conspiracy led by me, aimed at tarnishing its reputation, all while insisting their operations are above board. Furthermore, Derwick employs Adam Kaufmann, a former prosecutor from Manhattan DA’s Office, who has embarrassingly claimed in the Wall Street Journal that Derwick is a “transparent company with nothing to hide.” However, contrast Kaufmann’s statements to the WSJ with the actions of Derwick’s lawyers in a lawsuit against them in New York.
Kaufmann to the WSJ: “We are transparent! We have nothing to hide!”
Derwick lawyers: “Your Honor, we request that all deposition information and discovery materials regarding our activities remain sealed…”
Truly transparent, right?
Derwick’s time is running out.
Its executives are now under investigation by the Manhattan DA’s Office, several U.S. Federal Agencies, and even the corrupt individuals who contracted them are being investigated by FINCEN and Spain’s Anti Money Laundering authorities. This is likely to trigger further probes by other Spanish or European law enforcement agencies. For instance, El Mundo reveals that Villalobos transferred funds to bank accounts in Miami. Is RBC, named in SEPBLAC’s report, the Royal Bank of Canada? Also worth noting is that Villalobos is a bagman for a prominent chavista figure, known as Rafael Ramirez. Villalobos didn’t simply pocket the $50 million; lacking a formal position at the time, he couldn’t have awarded a contract. That responsibility lies with someone possessing true discretionary power, someone high in the chavista hierarchy—a Ramirez or a Cabello…
Derwick is also accused of paying at least $50 million to Diosdado Cabello to secure contracts (refer to Cabello’s mention in another leaked email). Its partner/alter ego has already disbursed millions to obtain the Termozulia contract. Given Villalobos’s earnings from Duro Felguera for similar purposes, along with Derwick’s repeated refusal to be scrutinized in lawsuits, their credibility is essentially non-existent.
Notice the mention of the Majzoub brothers and Ricardo Fernandez, all three proxies of Diosdado Cabello.
Derwick executives frequently assert that I am being paid to write about them, suggesting my efforts to expose chavista corruption—dating back to their teenage years—are part of a vendetta. They seem to believe that silencing me through break-ins, theft, stalking, online defamation, false legal claims, and threats against my children will resolve their legal troubles. They might think while enjoying parties in their newly acquired multimillion-dollar residences overlooking the Caracas Country Club, that I’ve conspired with Barack Obama, the Manhattan DA’s Office, FINCEN, SEC, FBI, Treasury, IRS, DEA, Homeland Security, the WSJ, El Mundo, and SEPBLAC against them. Just as their chavista patrons claim, “It’s all an Imperial Conspiracy!”
It’s not a conspiracy to highlight their admissions of paying “consulting fees,” or to reference American and Spanish news articles and investigations; it’s not a conspiracy to point out that Derwick hires Wikipedia editors to manage their non-existent “reputation”; nor is it a conspiracy to ridicule the absurd arguments made by their advocates and the unreasonable positions taken by their lawyers.
As I remarked previously, Derwick created this mess themselves and can only hold themselves accountable for the upcoming consequences. I’ve been told that sancochos in El Furrial are tediously dull…