It’s no secret that Al Capone was killed for tax evasion. Likewise, the Agenzia delle Entrate in Italy launched a quite spectacular investigation into the international operations of Dolce & Gabbana due to alleged tax evasion. So, what about Rafael Ramírez? Sources repeatedly place Ramírez, his wife Beatrice Sanso, and his brother-in-law Baldo Sanso as residents in Italy. Our own investigation found details about Baldo Sanso’s ex-wife and son living in Rome, as well as tax identification cards linked to Ramírez, Beatrice, and Baldo. Other sources have reported that Ramírez acquired Italian citizenship through marriage to Beatrice.
Ramírez is a wanted man in Venezuela. Reports indicate that Maduro’s regime is keen on capturing Ramírez: he knows too much, and Maduro can’t afford to let the intelligence information Ramírez possesses fall into the wrong hands, such as being used as leverage to strike a deal with the U.S. government in exchange for support for his candidacy to become the next president of Venezuela. For some quite inexplicable reason, Ramírez has not been charged, is not on the OFAC SDN list, and although almost all PDVSA-related cases announced by the Justice Department point directly to Ramírez, he has not been mentioned as much.
In January 2018, the Attorney General of Venezuela announced plans to issue an INTERPOL Red Notice for the arrest of Rafael Ramírez. As of the time of writing this article, the INTERPOL red notice database shows no individuals wanted by Venezuela. This might be due to recent successful challenges, where it was shown that Chavismo was using Red Notices to pursue political opponents (some of whom were completely corrupt Boligarcs like Pedro Torres Ciliberto and his son, not so much).
Sources report that Maduro has requested Italian authorities to extradite Ramírez. The extradition treaty between Italy and Venezuela dates back to 1930, and it includes a clause (art. 4) that prohibits the extradition of their own citizens, although it obliges the counterpart to prosecute the accused if the crime is also punishable under its own legal system:
«Le alte parti contraenti non concederanno la estradizione dei propri cittadini, ma si obbligano a processarli nel caso che la persecuzione del reato sia previsto dalle proprie leggi».
What is the law in Italy regarding the type of corruption Rafael Ramírez was involved in? Considering Ramírez managed almost single-handedly the budgets and revenues of PDVSA for over a decade—amounts that could rival Italy’s GDP, and a significant portion lost due to corruption—thanks to Ramírez and his circle of family and facilitators, how is it that Italy is not investigating him?
Italy’s stance on tax evasion is well-documented. Has Mr. Maggiore’s office ever investigated whether Ramírez pays or has paid the correct amount of taxes while residing in Italy? Has Ramírez ever declared all his assets to the Italian tax authorities? What about his wife, Beatrice, and his brother-in-law, Baldo? Since going underground after being dismissed from his position at the UN, has Ramírez justified his income to the Agenzia delle Entrate?