Following the complaint made by Commissioner Iván Simonovis last November, it was revealed how white-collar scammers, Roberto Añez (shareholder of Avior Airlines), David Brillembourg (president of the Brillembourg Capriles Group), and Juan Ramírez (president of Nodus Internacional Bank), managed to secure a trust at Bancoex to access funds from the Chinese fund and supposedly “build” a waste incineration plant in Zulia State. According to Simonovis, over 400 million dollars were allocated for this project, but all funds were diverted into the personal accounts of Añez, Ramírez, and Brillembourg.
David Brillembourg, after embezzling from the Chinese fund, announced the foundation of the Brillembourg Capriles Group, as stated on their website:
Established in 2015, Brillembourg Capriles Group (GBC) operates through its various investments in 38 countries, processes $500 million in annual transactions, serves 50,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and reaches over 3 million users per month, currently developing $1 billion in hotel projects, covering 1 million square feet of property.
However, during a journalistic investigation, it was discovered that Brillembourg altered the descriptions of its activities and assets on the company’s portal (in addition to removing his photo from the group’s website), a typical behavior of scammers looking to deceive investors and creditors by publishing false information on their websites.
Despite the current claims from the Brillembourg Capriles Group about its financial and real estate businesses, the reality appears to be different:
- Although the group presents itself as established in Puerto Rico with operations in 38 countries, records of the group were only found in the Cayman Islands with a fictitious address at 100 St. John St. Cayman, Islands 1001.
- The group claims to process $500 million for 50,000 companies, but no company or bank account related to the Brillembourg Capriles Group has been identified.
- The statement of having 3 million users seems exaggerated and has not been substantiated during the investigation, especially when compared to the number of users of recognized banks. Banesco has 4 million users and Banco de Venezuela has 2.5 million, yet these scammers claim to have matched them in just 6 years.
- The claim of investing $1 billion in hotel projects with over a million square feet of construction has not been verified, as no hotels in the world have been identified as associated with the Brillembourg Group.
This type of practice is common among white-collar scammers trying to rebuild their reputation and hide their past frauds. In the case of Brillembourg, it is suggested that he is attempting to cover up the embezzlement of BrillaBank and the previous financial and hotel group known as Brilla Capital and BriGroup.