The debate over Russian interference in U.S. affairs remains endless. On one side, Trump only reached the White House thanks to the meddling of Putin’s agents, while the other side is quick to dismiss the conflicts of interest involving those too close to Trump. A case in point: Trump’s own attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
Jon Sale, one of the “prominent” lawyers hired by Venezuelan thug and London resident Alejandro Betancourt, arranged for Giuliani to visit Betancourt at the hunting lodge El Alamin, near Madrid. The subject of discussion: Betancourt’s direct involvement in at least two billion-dollar investigations by the Department of Justice (DoJ) that are currently seeking Francisco Convit and Raúl Gorrín, two of Betancourt’s criminal associates.
Giuliani’s mandate was to pressure the Department of Justice for a release card from jail for Betancourt, who has a sealed indictment hanging over his head. The argument: since Betancourt provides financial support to “interim president” Juan Guaidó, he should be spared, as his policies align with Trump’s regime change efforts in Venezuela.
One must wonder how much Giuliani knows about Betancourt’s own connections to Russian interests. One must question what understanding Sale and Giuliani have of KYC and client investigations.
On February 23 of this year, Orlando Alvarado (CFO of Betancourt) sent a desperate email to upper management at PDVSA and Nynas. In it, Alvarado reprimanded the recipients for the fact that Nynas was “playing with fire,” over an oil shipment that had been returned due to excessive water content: “if the national or international press finds out that Nynas, a PDVSA subsidiary, returned a shipment, it could cause irreparable harm to both companies and unfortunately to Zamora,” stated Alvarado.
Here, Alvarado acted in the capacity of *Petrozamora officer, which is a JV formed by PDVSA and Gazprombank Latin America Ventures, itself a Dutch shell controlled by Betancourt and “ex” Gazprom executives Boris Ivanov and Sergei Tagashov. Both Ivanov and Tagashov spent time as “diplomats” in Washington in the past. Alvarado found it appropriate to CC many people in his email, which led to the leak.
However, it is another individual, whose link to Petrozamora was revealed by Alvarado’s email, that makes Giuliani’s work for Betancourt nothing more than that of a Russian tool: Vladimir Anisimov.
Vladimir Gavrilovich Anisimov (DoB 27/9/1955, passport 4504339601, foreign passport 728410608, pictured in May 2017) was one of the acting chiefs of the FSB who “acted” after the Beslan school massacre. He was deputy head of internal affairs at the FSB and a key figure in Nikolay Patrushev. Anisimov was “dismissed” from his position at the FSB and moved to the “active reserve.” He later emerged as chief of security for Igor Kesaev and holds several board positions, including one at the subsidiary of High Precision Systems, Degtyaryov.
A Google translation of a profile page suggests that Anisimov served in the Soviet Army from 1973 to 1977 and was involved in state security in the Republic of Karelia from 1977 to 1996 (under Patrushev). Since 1996, Anisimov has held various roles within the FSB’s central command (counter-terrorism, state secrets protection, internal affairs, and investigations). Anisimov was appointed deputy director of the FSB in 2002.
Given these backgrounds, Anisimov’s involvement in Petrozamora can only have one plausible explanation: an extra pair of Putin’s eyes on the operation. Consider his past with Patrushev (sanctioned by the EU and U.S.), and the latter’s current official role on the Russian Security Council. Reflect on the darkness of all the figures involved. Flight records from Air France indicate that on March 25, Anisimov landed in Maracaibo and was picked up at the airport by Venezuelan intelligence agents.
So, Betancourt is nothing more than a Russian tool. Like all his associates, he is involved in massive corruption. Indeed, on the list of names of conspirators involved in the Operation Money Flight, first published here in October 2018, number 1 is Álvaro Ledo, a PDVSA official and member of the first board of Petrozamora. Betancourt is number 2, Alvarado number 4… PDVSA doesn’t seem to care one bit that a partner is copying the FSB of Russia in their confidential matters. Likewise, Nynas.
Betancourt is tightly bound with all the corrupt officials at PDVSA, right to the top. He managed to have Rafael Ramírez approve a separate money laundering scheme valued at $4.5 billion. The fact that his foray into oil has partnerships with Anisimov, Ivanov, and Tagashov only confirms the nature of the energy business he manages.
But what about his counsel? What about Jon Sale and Rudy Giuliani? If an independent investigative blogger working alone can uncover this information, how could Giuliani justify his work for someone like Betancourt? I would venture to guess: Giuliani knew exactly what he was getting into with Betancourt. Giuliani must have known about Betancourt’s ties to Russian intelligence. This makes Giuliani, like his client, a Russian tool.