In addition to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against Gazprombank Latin America Ventures B.V., a company formed by Boris Ivanov of GPB Global Resources B.V. and Francisco Convit and Orlando Alvarado of Derwick Oil & Gas, used in turn to enter a joint venture called Petrozamora between Gazprombank and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), it is now clear that the initial “investment” of 50 million euros by Alejandro Betancourt in the Spanish sunglasses retailer Hawkers took place about 10 months after OFAC sanctioned Gazprombank Latin America Ventures B.V.
Betancourt funneled his investment in Hawkers through a fund called O’Hara, where Orlando Alvarado acts as the “portfolio manager and director.” When news broke about Betancourt’s involvement in Hawkers in early October 2016, I asked if Betancourt could demonstrate the legitimacy of the funds invested. Betancourt, Alvarado, their lawyers, and the individuals in charge of due diligence for that transaction should have been questioned about whether any information related to OFAC sanctions was ever disclosed to Hawkers’ executives at the time of investment. Betancourt and Alvarado have effectively been under a U.S. Treasury sanction since early January 2016 due to their connection with Gazprombank Latin America Ventures B.V.
Switzerland sanctioned Gazprombank in early February 2018 due to “atypical” transactions related to Derwick. The OFAC sanctions went even further, including not only the Swiss subsidiary of Gazprombank but also a large number of companies and individuals associated with it. The CEO of Gazprombank, Andrey Akimov, was added to the sanctions in early April 2018.
It remains to be seen whether the board of directors of Hawkers, where CEO Betancourt continues to launder millions through his O’Hara fund, or Spanish law enforcement will take any action regarding this matter.