In September 2013, as part of the “Who is…?” series, I published an investigative report on Luis Oberto, a discreet member of the Venezuelan boliburguesía who has managed to maintain a low profile despite a seemingly illegal business career. At that time, I wrote about Oberto:
…he has ventured into the hotel business in St Barts (Guillermo Pardo from Luxury Services would be the leader, while Hans Maissen would design the place) alongside Francisco Convit and another thug known as “the dwarf” Mariano Díaz (head of a criminal gang known as “the dwarf gang”: corrupt lawyers who delay trials initiated by Venezuelan prosecutors in exchange for fees…) added bold.
The information request sent then to the property registry office of St. Barts went unanswered. Fast forward a few months, to June 2014, and there was the official confirmation.
Now Guillermo Pardo is nothing more than a front man in this matter. He comes from a family of questionable reputation in Venezuela. His father -Antonio- was at one time a partner of the sought-after Pedro Torres Ciliberto, and owner of a company called PIVENSA -involved in a $30 million fraud against VENALUM (the business was basically to have VENALUM deliver aluminum on credit to PIVENSA, which would then sell it denying the balance). Pardo has a brother, also named Antonio (Jr), who made headlines as the only skier from Venezuela in the Sochi Winter Olympics. Antonio Jr is also a scammer: The Venezuelan Contraloría disqualified Antonio Jr -and Antonio Sr- in September 2011 for 15 years (see p.2) for a real estate scam. To start off, Antonio Jr’s partner is Carlos Kauffmann, known from the Valijagate scandal.
Given the family pedigree, it was natural for Guillermo Pardo to enter the luxury services business: he organizes world-renowned chefs to prepare breakfast for totally corrupt boligarcas in New York; arranges transportation for the same Boligarchs to use cars they have in different countries while shopping in Paris; and sends them diving in exotic locations, etc. In short, Guillermo Pardo is in the business of helping white-collar thieves spend their ill-gotten money around the globe.
The key question here is: did the authorities of St. Barts verify that the funds used to purchase plots AE 202 and AE 1727 to build that hotel were obtained legitimately? Are the authorities of St. Barts remotely aware of Oberto’s involvement in the corruption scandals in Venezuela? The most recent one, currently being investigated by U.S., Spanish, and Andorran authorities, involves over $4 billion from Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The construction permit granted to Guillermo Pardo is from June 2014. By then, Oberto had likely diverted billions through a network of shells in Panama, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Andorra, assisted by bankers at Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique, Banca Privada D’Andorra, and EFG Bank.
Does Monsieur Bruno Magras know what kind of investor Luis Oberto is and what type of “clientele” his luxury establishment will attract from South America?
Beachfront plot, located at Flamand Beach, St. Barts.
Google Earth shows the two empty plots with no ongoing work or buildings on them. The satellite images can, of course, be outdated. However, I checked with more recent satellite images, and the plots appear vacant. No hotel so far. The larger plot is intended for the hotel, while the smaller one is earmarked for parking.
But then rumors circulate that Guillermo Pardo is no longer getting along with Luis Oberto. Lawyers are supposedly involved. American lawyers. I also heard that Oberto is actively cooperating with U.S. federal authorities investigating PDVSA and its former CEO, Rafael Ramírez. We’ll have to see if we see Oberto’s name in one of those -already famous- accusations against Venezuelan businessmen of his kind. The Twitter messages and emails sent to Pardo requesting comments have gone unanswered.
Meanwhile, I will send a lot of information about Oberto to Monsieur Magras. Money laundering, after all, is illegal in France.