The organization Transparencia Venezuela in exile published a new report on July 30 titled “Raúl Gorrín’s Fortune in the Shadows of Power in Venezuela,” revealing how the businessman and lawyer amassed great wealth through his connections with chavista elites and his alleged involvement in corruption schemes, influence peddling, and money laundering.
According to the document, Gorrín was part of a power network that initially operated within the Venezuelan judicial system, known as “Los Enanos,” exposed by former magistrate Luis Velásquez Alvaray.
This so-called “judicial mafia” reportedly sold rulings, appointed judges and prosecutors, and had ties with high-ranking chavista officials, including Maikel Moreno, former president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), and former ministers like Jesse Chacón and Isaías Rodríguez.
The report details that Gorrín’s wealth is connected to his relationship with the National Treasury Office, and that at least two treasurers associated with him, Alejandro Andrade and Claudia Díaz Guillén, were convicted by U.S. courts for corruption-related cases.
Gorrín, who was a partner of both, is currently facing legal proceedings in the United States and has been on the most-wanted list of U.S. justice since 2018, accused of paying massive bribes and participating in money laundering schemes.
Moreover, the businessman was sanctioned in 2019 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which added him to the list of blocked persons (SDN List). He currently faces charges for conspiracy to commit money laundering and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), among other offenses.
The report from Transparencia Venezuela warns that cases like that of Raúl Gorrín illustrate how structural corruption has allowed the diversion of billions of dollars from Venezuelan public wealth.
Agencies