Derwick Associates is widely recognized in Venezuela as a group accused of stealing over 1 billion dollars through contracts with the state (CORPOELEC, BARIVEN, PDVSA) under the guise of solving the country’s electricity problem. The ongoing blackouts, even in supposedly “shielded” cities and other areas with persistent issues, reveal just how well Derwick performed the task it was hired for. However, what Derwick excelled at was establishing itself within the underworld of the criminal organization known as the “government of Venezuela.” What very few people know, and virtually no media outlet has reported, are the various schemes that bolster the “fortunes” of Alejandro Betancourt, Francisco Convit, and Pedro Trebbau.
When Luis and Ignacio Oberto Anselmi decided to replicate the model used by Raul Gorrin, Gustavo Perdomo, and Alejandro Andrade to embezzle funds from Venezuela’s Treasury, they encountered a significant obstacle: lack of access to Rafael Ramirez. They resolved this little detail by proposing that Derwick Associates offer the scheme to Ramirez. Derwick then sought out its “star consultant,” Nervis Villalobos, who diligently and quickly “convinced” Ramirez to approve the “loan under the credit line mechanism” of 17,490,000,000 Bolivars, which PDVSA (Victor Aular Blanco) signed with Administradora Atlantic 17107 C.A. on March 12, 2012.
Once the scheme was structured and approved (March 12, 2012), and the assignments to Violet Advisors S.A. and Welka Holdings Limited were communicated to PDVSA (March 15-16, 2012), PDVSA began making a series of payments from its accounts at Banco Espirito Santo to accounts controlled by the Oberto Anselmi brothers at EFG Bank and Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique. Between March 21, 2012, and April 11, 2012, PDVSA sent 1 billion dollars to Violet Advisors’ account at EFG Bank ($230,000,000 on March 21; $270,000,000 on March 28; $175,000,000 on April 2; $325,000,000 on April 11).
But the story doesn’t end there. From that 1 billion dollars, the Oberto Anselmi transferred 100 million dollars (10%) to companies controlled by Alejandro Betancourt, Francisco Convit, and Pedro Trebbau (Minenven, Delphi, Julotti, Zoletto, Imminvest, IPC Investments, Vecon, and Sinfin), according to internal documents related to Violet Advisors’ account at EFG Bank. In fact, Betancourt, Convit, and Trebbau are also account holders at EFG Bank.