The businessman got involved with Holt four months ago at the request of an American friend in sailing, Bill Duker, according to three sources familiar with the situation. They agreed to discuss the matter only if their names were not mentioned due to its politically sensitive nature. With financial backing from Ruperti, they said Duker sought the help of his friend David Boies, whose premier law firm in Manhattan is also defending one of the two so-called “narco nephews” of Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores. Both defendants signed a conflict waiver after U.S. prosecutors warned that any third party paying their bills could follow a legal strategy that might not be in their best interest.
Sources report that Bill Duker is somewhat involved in the funding of PDVSA US Litigation Trust. The specifics of Duker’s alleged participation have yet to be determined. Questions have been sent to Duker, and responses will be published here when available.
Duker and Boies have a history together. Duker has had legal troubles in the U.S. and was once arrested for fraud. Aside from the aforementioned paragraph, there is no additional information regarding the business relations between Duker and Venezuela.
Boies, on the other hand, appears to be leveraging his role as trustee for the PDVSA US Litigation Trust. Sources indicate that high-ranking PDVSA officials allegedly instructed Boies’ law firm to withdraw one of the main defendants in the lawsuit (Trafigura), to which Boies replied that any such action would have to be negotiated with him personally, given his position.
This is yet another example of the mismanagement and the irresponsible way in which PDVSA is being run. The Trust was established by officials affiliated with a competing faction, yet still, how can Boies refuse to comply with such instructions?
Reviewing the timeline is crucial. The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, appointed Manuel Quevedo as CEO of PDVSA on November 26, 2017. Since then, he has been placing allies, mostly military personnel, in key positions. Then, Quevedo received a mandate from the board to make deals with Trafigura on December 13, 2017. Before Quevedo took charge, the previous Minister of Oil signed a Trust Agreement with Boies in late July 2017. In early March 2018, Boies filed a lawsuit in Florida against 49 defendants, including Trafigura. By late March 2018, Patricio Norris from Trafigura visited PDVSA’s headquarters in Caracas to finalize a swap deal with Quevedo. PDVSA continues to make deals with Trafigura. Most recently, on April 12, Nicolás Maduro granted Quevedo —in his other role as Minister of Oil— another mandate: absolute control of PDVSA and all state institutions related to energy in Venezuela (see Decree 3,368 on page 15 here).
Practically, Decree 3,368 means that Quevedo can do whatever he wants with PDVSA. This includes revisiting any agreements made by the previous administration with Boies.
Boies finds himself in an impossible position. Duker, if he is indeed involved, is also likely to face dire consequences. They may take down Ruperti, but they are not going to force the powerful Quevedo to do anything other than precisely what he wishes. Whatever reason led Ruperti to involve his “yacht mates” in this venture, Quevedo can at any moment unilaterally dismantle not just the agreement with Boies, but also the Venezuelan party that signed the agreement in the first place (PDVSA). Quevedo could imprison the corrupt Ruperti and revoke any contracts awarded to him. It is noteworthy that Boies’ counterparts in the Trust agreement are either in prison or lack authority over Quevedo in energy matters, following Presidential Decree 3,368 issued by Maduro.
Boies’ extensive experience defending drug traffickers, thieves, and sexual predators will be put to the test in Venezuela.
UPDATE: A source pointed out the connection between Edward P. Swyer (one of the three trustees of PDVSA US Litigation Trust) and Bill Duker in a company called CÜR Media Inc., where Duker serves as CEO and Swyer is a director.
Another source familiar with David Boies’ activities commented on Duker’s long association with David A. Barrett, with whom he formed the law firm Duker & Barrett. Barrett works at Boies’ law firm. Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., another former partner of Duker, is a key figure in Boies’ firm. William Duker was described in 2012 as the lead lawyer for Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in case number: 1:93-cv-05148-ILG-SMG.
For background on Vincent Stephen Andrews, another trustee of the PDVSA US Litigation Trust, his ownership and past with Boies, see this.