A series of accusations, allegations, and legal actions against Alejandro Betancourt—dubbed one of the “bolichicos” by journalist Juan Carlos Zapata—links him to the worsening electric crisis in Venezuela, described today as catastrophic. It is said that he became a billionaire after securing a range of contracts with the National Electric Corporation, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., and the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana for the construction of thermoelectric plants through his company, Derwick Associates Corp., even though—according to his accusers—the company lacked the necessary experience and capital to complete such projects.
In obtaining these contracts, Betancourt and his partners allegedly exploited their connections with officials from Hugo Chávez’s government, to whom they supposedly paid bribes to secure deals that ultimately became a major scam for the Venezuelan state, as much of the work remained unfinished and Derwick reportedly sold junk or refurbished equipment at exorbitant prices.
Personal Information
According to the Dateas portal, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López was born on February 22, 1980, holds the identity card No. V-15.394.369, and resides in the El Hatillo parish, El Hatillo municipality, Miranda state.
He votes at the Club La Lagunita, in the same parish and municipality.
His individual account in the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS) indicates he joined the system on November 1, 2007, his current status is active, and his contingency date will be February 22, 2040. He is registered under the employer number O81076190 for Derwick Associates of Venezuela. He has 587 weeks of contributions and total contributions amounting to Bs. 64,513.30.
His parents are pianist Leopoldo Betancourt and jewelry designer Lilia López. He is a great-grandson of Hermágoras López, who served as president of the republic in 1887-1888, after Antonio Guzmán Blanco went to Paris.
He is married to Andreina Rojas.
His Profile
According to his website, he holds degrees in Economics and Business Administration from Suffolk University in Massachusetts (Boston, USA). He is the founder and president of Derwick Associates. He served as trade manager for Latin America at the UK branch of the U.S. company ICC-OEOC, specialized in the energy sector and oil trading. Then he was part of the management teams at Guruceaga Group and BGB Energy, a Venezuelan subsidiary of the international corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
After this last position, he decided to establish Derwick Associates in 2007, a firm he describes as “100% Venezuelan capital specialized in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of thermoelectric plants.”
This site claims that “since 2010, Derwick has built eleven simple cycle thermoelectric plants that have added 1,386 MW to Venezuela’s electrical system and created over 12,000 jobs, benefiting around 700,000 families, making it one of the most important private companies in Venezuela’s electrical sector.”
There, Alejandro Betancourt also states that he leads the international investment group O’Hara Administration, which “increased its stake in the oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy to become its main shareholder, controlling about 20% of its shares.” He adds that together with international partners, he got involved in managing the oil company. He is on the board of directors of the company now known as Pacific Exploration & Production Corp.
On this page, he presents himself as an entrepreneur committed to social causes, helping schools, constructing sports facilities, participating in environmental protection projects, and supporting universities.
He also ventured into banking in June 2015 when the financial group BDK Financial Group, of which he is a shareholder, inaugurated the Banque de Dakar in Senegal.
In October 2016, the O’Hara group partnered with the founders of the social network Tuenti, Félix Ruiz and Hugo Arévalo, investing 50 million euros in the Spanish sunglasses company Hawkers, of which he has been president since November that year.
This is also reflected in his LinkedIn profile.
The “Bolichico” and Derwick
However, not all references about Alejandro Betancourt are as favorable as those he shares about himself, as there are numerous criticisms regarding the nature of his businesses and his relationships with the Venezuelan government.
In fact, the sudden emergence of his company and partners, as well as the inexplicable hiring of Derwick Associates, without experience or capital for negotiations of such magnitude shortly after its creation, led journalist Juan Carlos Zapata to coin the term “bolichicos” in 2010 to refer to this group of “new entrepreneurs” aligned with the Chavista government, who debuted in the market with billion-dollar contracts for electric projects that, apparently, were obtained through unclear means, allegedly allowing them to amass great fortunes under irregular negotiations.
Zapata points out that: “The evidence is there. The web. The scheme. The names. The amounts. The entire business woven with electricity purchases. Twelve contracts in 14 months. Of which five have disappeared into limbo. And the protagonists? The bolichicos. And their links,” as cited by Noticiero Digital, which explains: “Who are the bolichicos? The owners of Derwick Associates Venezuela, almost all under 30 years of age, who had no experience in the electrical sector” and who benefited from their connections with Javier Alvarado, Rodolfo Sanz, Rafael Ramírez, and Adán Chávez.
Immediately after its foundation, Derwick secured contracts for the construction of thermoelectric plants, five with Electricidad de Caracas, five with PDVSA through Bariven, and one by the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG).
The rapid acquisition of twelve lucrative contracts for electric plants by a newly established company, without capital and, in the worst view, without the necessary expertise, was highly suspect for the communicator, concerning Alejandro Betancourt López (chairman and founder of Derwick Associates), Pedro Trebbau López (vice president), Francisco Convit Guruceaga (shareholder), Domingo Guzmán López (director), and Orlando Alvarado (portfolio manager and director of O’Hara and its affiliates).
Criticism intensified after allegations that Derwick Associates obtained the lucrative contracts from state-owned enterprises through direct awards, allegedly presenting invoices with inflated prices and selling, according to accusations, defective and refurbished equipment, among other irregularities.
In Spain, where Betancourt resides now, he promotes Derwick as a company present in the Iberian nation since 2010 “after five years of work in Venezuela. During this period, the company has reinforced the energy sector in the country by constructing eleven thermoelectric plants, reducing reliance on hydroelectric energy.” However, as emphasized by a note from El Estímulo, the incorporation of this company dates back to October 28, 2009—an earlier year than Betancourt has stated on his website—when its creation was registered with the First Registry of the Capital District and Miranda state, in book N°232-A. Therefore, the note concludes, “it is highly unlikely that this company could export the experience it claims to have gained from its activities in Venezuela in just a few months.”
This El Estímulo article underlines Betancourt’s eagerness to present himself to the public as a successful businessman with a broad social responsibility and significant innovative initiatives, such as the titled “Turbine Technology Center, CTT,” located in Guacara’s industrial zone, Carabobo state, which he emphasizes has a cost of 40 million dollars and was supposed to start operating in 2014. Described by him as “an unprecedented initiative in Latin America, which will strengthen and make Venezuela’s thermoelectric sector independent through a rapid and efficient assistance and repair service,” this project, awarded by the Spanish magazine Capital as the best business initiative in Latin America in December 2013, was still non-operational at the time of publication.
The information adds that in light of the scandals, Betancourt López has turned to digital platforms to try to restore his tarnished image and that of his companies. Philanthropic efforts are also seen as a “good way to improve the perception” held about him and his businesses.
On its website, Derwick describes its focus on meeting the engineering, procurement, and construction needs of its clients. “We resolve their Logistics needs, which are outsiders to their business, and guarantee the continuity of their operations by providing Maintenance and Operation solutions, as well as Technology Transfer. We understand and adapt to our clients, taking into account their quality requirements and execution times.”
The Bloomberg portal reports that Derwick Associates Corp is a company that “provides comprehensive energy services. The company offers solutions ranging from the supply of equipment for power plants to the installation of power plants. Derwick Associates serves clients in Venezuela.” The firm’s headquarters is located at Avenida Francisco de Miranda with 4ta Avenida de Campo Alegre, Caracas. Their phone number is 58-212-206-8411.
Among the projects mentioned on their webpage are the La Raisa Phase I Plant, La Raisa Phase II Plant, Guarenas Plant (Phases I and II); the conversion for dual fuel of two GE Frame 7EA turbines; and the Picure Plant, developed for the National Electric Corporation. However, they do not mention the other plants contracted for Corpoelec, PDVSA, and CVG, reported to be unfinished, junk, or refurbished.
The journalistic report adds that in March 2016, deputy Julio Montoya stated that “‘As a result of two years of investigation by a multidisciplinary team, we present serious allegations: of the 30 billion dollars that the National Government allocated for the electrical emergency, approximately 96% of what was to be executed is not inaugurated or functioning today.’ According to the parliamentarian, there is a roadmap for investigating these alleged irregularities, wherein international bodies and agencies cooperate from countries whose financial systems were employed to divert money that, instead of illuminating Venezuela, have enriched those responsible for these operations.”
Reich Vs. Betancourt
Alejandro Betancourt and his partner Pedro Trebbau were investigated in the federal courts of New York state following a complaint filed against them by former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Otto Reich, who on July 30, 2013, accused them of being allegedly involved in organized crime, corruption, extortion of public officials, electronic fraud, personal and commercial defamation, and conspiracy among other charges.
This accusation arose because “the dissemination of false versions of an alleged link between his law firm and the Venezuelan firm by the representatives of Derwick would have harmed his reputation and even had financial repercussions.”
Otto Reich represented the United States in Venezuela from 1986 to 1989, besides holding significant positions in the State Department. Throughout his career, he maintained several prominent positions within the State Department, primarily focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the “culture of corruption” that plagued several governments in the region, particularly Venezuela. Since his retirement from the U.S. government in 2004, Reich has served as a consultant through his firm Otto Reich Associates LLC, focusing on various pro-democracy and anti-corruption individuals and organizations in the U.S.
The portal RunRun.es explains that Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López and Pedro José Trebbau López, residents of the U.S. at the time, amassed huge fortunes allegedly through an illegal scheme to obtain energy contracts in Venezuela for their companies Derwick Associates USA LLC and Derwick Associates Corporation. The accused allegedly offered bribes to public officials in Venezuela in exchange for awarding construction contracts in the energy sector, and when contracts were secured, they transferred money to bank accounts in New York. Betancourt and his partners subcontracted American companies, including General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and ProEnergy Services LLC, to carry out construction projects.
The lawsuit continues that Betancourt owned a penthouse in Olympic Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, while Trebbau had a property in the exclusive Sunny Isles area of Miami. Additionally, they hold properties in Florida. It is reported that the defendants operated the business from an office located at 450 Park Avenue in New York.
In September 2012, Betancourt, Trebbau, and Derwick Associates filed a defamation lawsuit in Miami, Florida, seeking restitution for damages exceeding USD 300 million from the Banco Venezolano de Crédito and its president, Oscar García Mendoza, an opponent of the Chavista regime. They alleged that the bank and García spread defamatory information about Derwick and its founders on a website called wikianticorrupcion.org. The Banco Venezolano de Crédito hired Otto Reich and his firm to assist in its defense. Betancourt and Trebbau allegedly attempted to dissuade Reich and supposedly offered him money to withdraw, but the former diplomat refused, proceeding to spread “false information to the bank’s directors claiming that Reich was working as a double agent for Derwick.” Finally, in December 2012, the Banco Venezolano de Crédito ended its relationship with Reich and ORA, ceasing all communication between the parties.
Due to all the above, Otto Reich filed the lawsuit against the bolichicos in late July, alleging and blaming them, among other alleged crimes, for organized crime, corruption, and defamation.
The judge of the Southern District Court of New York, Paul Oetken, dismissed the lawsuit, considering that this city was not the permanent residence of Betancourt and his partners designated as co-conspirators in the legal action. The judge found that Otto Reich’s allegations did not constitute a violation of the Corrupt Organizations Law under the influence of Organized Crime.
Reich appealed the decision in June 2016, and on that occasion declared that “Betancourt and Trebbau amassed a huge fortune through the illicit payment of multimillion-dollar bribes to public officials in Venezuela, who, in exchange, awarded Derwick enormous contracts in the energy sector. The people of Venezuela are an indirect victim of overcharging by the defendants of at least 2.9 trillion dollars.”
Journalist Alek Boyd warns that “the nightmare” for Derwick continues, as Otto Reich also accused JPMorgan of having participated in money laundering.
He cautioned that “the bolichicos” should have regretted relying on the argument of lack of jurisdiction of New York courts regarding Reich’s lawsuit, as before filing in Florida, they had already initiated another lawsuit against Oscar García and the Banco Venezolano de Crédito for similar reasons in that city. “In other words, in 2012 they deemed it appropriate to use New York state courts for their lawsuit, and in 2013 claimed that those same courts did not have jurisdiction over their illegal activities,” emphasized Boyd.
Also Against Thor Halvorssen
Human rights activist Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, president of Human Rights Foundation (HRF), also sued the owners of Derwick for defamation in March 2014.
The plaintiff pointed out that “The Venezuelan state paid more than 2 billion dollars to the bolichicos for thermoelectric junk sold at inflated prices.”
According to a note from La Razón, Halvorssen Mendoza stated in an interview that “the bolichicos are a group of inexperienced youths in the electrical sector who obtained 12 contracts from PDVSA, Corpoelec, and Sidor/CVG to address the electrical crisis of 2010 (…) They later subcontracted ProEnergy, a U.S.-based company, to handle the technical aspects, due to Derwick’s total lack of knowledge regarding the construction and equipping of electric plants.”
The cases were dismissed due to jurisdictional competence, which does not imply that the events raised in them were uncertain. In any case, Betancourt’s environment continues to assert that the civil lawsuits were rejected and maintain that he is neither directly nor indirectly linked to any legal processes against him.
However, Halvorssen returned to the charge on May 10, 2018, when he filed a new lawsuit for damages in the Eastern District Court of New York against Derwick Associates owners Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt-López, Francisco Antonio Convit-Guruceaga, and Pedro José Trebbau-López. The lawsuit also included two Americans, Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch. The action is grounded on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Thor Halvorssen claimed in court that the Venezuelan businessmen had engaged in a conspiracy to retaliate against him for informing on a series of crimes of corruption and money laundering committed by them. “According to the legal document, the purpose of the conspiracy was to discredit Halvorssen so that he could not serve as president of the Human Rights Foundation. It is said that the defendants created a campaign against the plaintiff, utilizing the services of Fusion GPS, which has come under scrutiny for releasing false data regarding the alleged ties between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Kremlin, funded by the Democratic Party and the campaign of ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton,” reports a note from El Nuevo País.
According to the plaintiff, the defendants “hired Fusion GPS directors, Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch, to produce a false dossier and a media campaign (including social media) to portray Halvorssen as a pedophile, addicted to heroin, and embezzling money from the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. Defending himself against such accusations has cost Halvorssen millions of dollars, of which he is now suing the defendants under the RICO Act.”
It is worth noting that former Southern District of New York prosecutor Preet Bharara requested information from Swiss authorities regarding accounts related to the alleged corruption scheme siphoning resources from PDVSA and Corpoelec. The investigations requested concerned both Derwick and its executives.
Halvorssen claims that recent arrests in Spain of Nervis Villalobos could also expose the bolichicos.
Other Businesses in Spain
The purchase of a farm in Toledo by Betancourt is reported by El Mundo as an exercise to conceal and protect funds improperly obtained at the expense of contracts with PDVSA. Betancourt fell in love with the property at first sight.
This was allegedly done in partnership with a Spaniard named Alberto Cortina, who became a partner of Alejandro Betancourt and Pedro Trebbau López, now entrenched in Spain. They would also be conducting business with a financial group in Africa.
Alberto Cortina was convicted in 2003 for fraud and forgery.
Betancourt and Trebbau own Derwick Associates International in Spain, renamed the Agricultural Investments Company Trieste, as reported by El Mundo; they took advantage of the financial crisis of Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, purchasing the estate for 22.8 million Euros in 2012.
The son of Palomo Linares, Miguel Palomo Danko, mediated between these Venezuelans and the administrators of the Pulpi company, which owned the farmland.
The first deal between the bolichicos and Cortina arose around Venezuelan oil when in February 2012, the Hugo Chávez government approved the constitution of the mixed company Petrozamora, with PDVSA holding 60 percent of the shares and the Dutch Gazprombank Latin America Ventures BV owning the remaining 40 percent. The latter would have been established by Cortina, Betancourt, and Trebbau with Russian financing. Gazprombank holds 51 percent, while the remaining 49 percent belongs to the Spaniard and the Venezuelans.
The other partnership between Cortina and the bolichicos began in 2014 when they founded the BDK Financial Group SA, aimed at creating a financial network in the Francophone African countries, starting in Senegal, where they acquired the Bank of Dakar in 2015. They are also present in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Guinea Conakry. Lacking capital, they had to rely on third parties to complete funding, including Asturian Blas Herrero Fernández, owner of the radio chain Kiss FM; Alberto Alcocer, cousin of Cortina; the family of Emilio Botín in Banco Santander, Alfredo Sáenz; and Alfonso, brother of Alberto Cortina, former president of Repsol, who participated personally and through Pair Wise SL; César Álvarez, brother of the late Isidoro Álvarez, president of El Corte Inglés, through Alvanella SL; and Cortina’s son, Pelayo Cortina Koplowitz; Ramón Blanco Balín via Valmur Asesores; businessman Bartolomé Fluxá Torres through Barflutor SL; and the ex-president of the Spanish Federation of Audiovisual Producers Associations (Fapae), Pedro Pérez Fernández de la Puente, through GDavid Consultores SL, among others.
Cortina and Betancourt also teamed up on Petrosur, a mixed company in which PDVSA owns 60 percent of the shares and the Dutch Stichting Administratiekantoor Inversiones Petroleras Iberoamericanas holds the remaining 40 percent. But in January 2018, Cortina and Betancourt reportedly left this project.
Alleged Corruption Hidden Behind Hawkers Sunglasses
A note from El Confidencial refers to a curious case that caught the attention of a consultant accustomed to tracking lobbying groups when he was digging into the clientele of Ballard Partners, a major lobbying firm in Washington DC.
It struck him as odd that a Venezuelan television station, Globovisión, and a company dedicated to the online sale of sunglasses turned to Hawkers’ services. There was a need to investigate the reasons.
The answer lay in that Alejandro Betancourt, newly entered into the Spanish jet set with his fortune under investigation by U.S. authorities and his name flooding the Venezuelan and U.S. press with corruption accusations and multiple irregularities, needed to clean up his image.
The creators of Hawkers met Betancourt in 2016 while looking for a capital partner. He was willing to invest 40 million euros into the company, making him the president of the parent company that controls Hawkers (Saldum Ventures SL).
Betancourt’s 2012 purchase of a 1,600-hectare hunting estate in Toledo, built upon a 10th-century Andalusian castle and expropriated from Gerardo Díaz-Ferrán for 22 million euros, made him a target for scrutiny in Spanish society.
Although he spent a lot of time in Spain where he tied the knot, the center of Betancourt’s business remained Venezuela, where he maintained close ties with Nicolás Maduro’s government, translating into significant business dealings.
Sources from El Confidencial report that Hawkers acts to prevent further sanctions from the U.S. government against Venezuelan government officials. “If you dig a little, it’s evident that this could be the reason Betancourt contracted Ballard. Curiously, there’s another company that stands out on the client list, which is precisely Globovisión, owned by Raúl Gorrín, another key ally of Maduro,” the note reads.
Furthermore, Otto Reich is said to be among the advisors to the White House, and given the prior accounts narrated about both him and Betancourt, it’s necessary to act to avoid further consequences.
After several contradictions, Hawkers reported to El Confidencial that this contract with Ballard was due to “consultancy service provision” related to the company’s expansion into the United States. “What has been signed with Ballard is a advisory contract with strategic objectives (market, funding, brand positioning), for Hawkers’ expansion in the USA market. It’s a three-month trial contract for consulting services.”
Shareholders of Pacific
On April 21, 2015, through the investment group O’Hara, Betancourt and his partners became shareholders of Pacific in Colombia, when IPC Investments Corp, one of their funds, purchased one million common shares.
In the same month, they “were reported to the competent authorities by Pacific shareholder Felipe Goyeneche for allegedly engaging in money laundering. According to the complaint, ‘these foreign entrepreneurs, using their companies, reach other countries to legalize money through investments in various national or multinational companies. In this particular case, the company Derwick Associates purchased shares in the multinational Pacific Exploration & Production, with funds of dubious origin, generally obtained in their countries of origin.’
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