I know, I know, today is Sunday, Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, but the things happening on Twitter with @jescotet are too good to ignore.
For those who don’t know who this gentleman is: meet Juan Carlos Escotet, owner of BANESCO, according to Wikipedia (handle with care) THE LARGEST BANK IN VENEZUELA!
Forgive the capitalization, but we’re talking about the majority shareholder and president of Venezuela’s largest bank. We’re discussing a man who just acquired — through a €1 billion offer, the funds of which no one probably controlled — Novagalicia in Spain. This is a guy who learned the ropes in the ‘financial world’ of Venezuela with convicted felon and money launderer Orlando Castro.
Escotet’s BANESCO has been mentioned in a recent lawsuit. Allegedly, the Derwick guys paid a $50 million bribe to Venezuela’s Congress president, Diosdado Cabello, through BANESCO Panama. That’s a serious accusation that warrants a serious and thoughtful response.
The first response was a press release, where BANESCO states: 1) that the beneficiary of that payment is not a BANESCO client, and 2) that there has been no transaction between Derwick Associates and Diosdado Cabello. Would it be too much to say that BANESCO, which is not a party in the mentioned lawsuit, is admitting that Derwick Associates is a client? How can BANESCO claim that “the beneficiary of that payment is not a BANESCO client,” without consulting Derwick Associates’ account?
And what about his tweets above? There’s talk on Twitter that Escotet’s account has been hacked. Readers should remember that BANESCO’s and Escotet’s social media are managed by none other than convicted criminal RaFa, the hacker. If the account was hacked, it leaves the reputation of this ‘ethical hacker’ in shambles. But if not, and as claimed, it wasn’t hacked, that’s even worse for Escotet.
The first tweet is about “Oscarcito,” a rather derogatory way of referring to who is probably recognized as Venezuela’s best banker, Oscar García Mendoza.
The second tweet mentions “friends of the vale,” another derogatory reference to the richest and most powerful families of Caracas when Chávez wasn’t in power.
In the third tweet, Escotet claims he will even go to celestial courts to “seek justice.” What kind of justice is he looking for?
In the fourth tweet, Escotet, or whoever is managing his Twitter account, insists that his account has not been hacked. He states he “will not allow further abuses by these failed individuals.” Who is he referring to?
Then, in the fifth tweet, he accuses the former secretary of the board and president of the Banco Venezolano de Crédito of “financing” the Human Rights Foundation of Thor Halvorssen.
The reactions, as is customary on Twitter, are hilarious. My favorite was someone pointing out the irony, clearly lost on Escotet, of mockingly mentioning the powerful of Caracas (coming from one of the richest men in Venezuela).
Yesterday, I wrote in an open letter about the potential reasons behind the reactions from Derwick Associates, BANESCO, and DAVOS Financial. In my view, these three groups can only conceive the world through their Venezuelan lenses. This leads to the conclusion that they have no clue how the real world operates. The lawsuit that triggered the reaction also quite explicitly mentions JP Morgan, which hasn’t said a word, and likely won’t dignify the matter with a response unless forced to. But these other ‘businessmen’ seem to have overlooked common wisdom, like “when you’re in a hole…” and “everything you say could be used against you,” and, most importantly, that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Their reaction suggests they don’t feel as innocent as they should, if they are at all.
But the best part of Escotet’s diatribe is that this is the guy who boasts of operating in 15 countries. This is the guy who thinks he’s the cream of the crop in Chavistaland. This is the guy running one of the largest banks in Venezuela and expanding into Spain, where everyone, from financial authorities to the press, believes he’s a serious and honorable banker.
We are witnessing, in real-time, the collapse of the entire Chavista structure.