HOUSTON – Charges were
unsealed today against five former Venezuelan government officials for their
alleged participation in an international money laundering scheme involving
bribes made to corruptly secure energy contracts from Venezuela’s state-owned
and state-controlled energy company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
(PDVSA). Two of the five defendants are also charged with conspiracy to
violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick
of the Southern District of Texas, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P.
Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in
Charge Mark Dawson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston made the announcement.
Four of the defendants - Luis
Carlos De Leon Perez (De Leon), 41, Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cardenas
(Villalobos), 50, Cesar David Rincon Godoy (Cesar Rincon), 50, and Rafael
Ernesto Reiter Munoz (Reiter), 39, were arrested in Spain in October 2017 by
Spanish authorities on arrest warrants based on a 20-count indictment returned
in the Southern District of Texas on Aug. 23, 2017. Cesar Rincon was
extradited from Spain on Feb. 9, 2018, and made his initial appearance today
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith of the Southern District of
Texas. De Leon, Villalobos and Reiter remain in Spanish custody pending
extradition. A fifth defendant - Alejandro Isturiz Chiesa (Isturiz), 33,
remains at large and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. All
five defendants are citizens of Venezuela. De Leon is also a U.S. citizen.
De Leon, Villalobos, Reiter
and Isturiz are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money
laundering, while Cesar Rincon is charged with two counts of conspiracy to
commit money laundering. De Leon, Cesar Rincon and Reiter are charged with
four counts of money laundering, while Villalobos and Isturiz are charged with
one and five counts of money laundering, respectively. De Leon and Villalobos
are each also charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.
“Effective deterrence of
corruption requires prosecution of culpable individuals, wherever those
individuals are located,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick. “We will continue to
enforce the FCPA against those that avail themselves of the privileges of the
American marketplace.”
“Corruption threatens
economic and political stability, and victimizes ordinary law-abiding people by
diverting public funds into the pockets of corrupt officials and bribe payers,”
said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “The charges announced
today demonstrate our commitment to fighting corruption at its source and to
prosecuting those who allegedly launder their illicit gains through American
financial institutions and real estate. Through cases like this, we are sending
a strong message to corrupt foreign officials: if you launder your ill-gotten
gains through the United States, you will be prosecuted.”
“This case is an example of
what can be accomplished when international law enforcement agencies work
together to thwart complex cross-border crimes” said Special Agent in Charge
Dawson. “HSI is committed to upholding the rule of law and investigating those
that would participate in illegal practices.”
The indictment alleges the
five defendants, all of whom were then-current officials of PDVSA and its
subsidiaries or former officials of other Venezuelan government agencies or
instrumentalities, were known as the “management team” and wielded significant
influence within PDVSA. According to the indictment, the management team
conspired with each other and others to solicit several PDVSA vendors,
including vendors who were residents of the United States and who owned and
controlled businesses incorporated and based in the United States, for bribes
and kickbacks in exchange for providing assistance to those vendors in
connection with their PDVSA business. The indictment further alleges the
co-conspirators then laundered the proceeds of the bribery scheme through a
series of complex international financial transactions including to, from or
through bank accounts in the United States. In some instances, they allegedly
laundered the bribe proceeds in the form of real estate transactions and other
investments in the United States.
According to the indictment,
two PDVSA vendors - Roberto Enrique Rincon Fernandez (Roberto Rincon), 57, of The Woodlands, and Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas (Shiera), 54, of Coral Gables, Florida - sent more
than $27 million in bribe payments to an account in Switzerland for which De
Leon was a beneficial owner and De Leon and Villalobos were authorized
signers. The indictment alleges those funds were later transferred to
other accounts in Switzerland. Both Roberto Rincon and Shiera previously
pleaded guilty to FCPA charges in connection with a scheme to bribe PDVSA officials. According
to admissions made in connection with their pleas, Roberto Rincon and Shiera
paid bribes and provided other things of value to PDVSA officials to ensure
that their companies were placed on PDVSA bidding panels and ensure that they
were given payment priority so that they would get paid ahead of other PDVSA
vendors with outstanding invoices. Roberto Rincon and Shiera are currently
awaiting sentencing.
With the unsealing of the
indictment today, the Justice Department has announced charges against 15
individuals, 10 of whom have pleaded guilty, as part of a larger and ongoing
investigation by the U.S. government into bribery at PDVSA.
HSI in Houston is conducting
the ongoing investigation with assistance from HSI in Boston and Madrid as well
as from IRS Criminal Investigation. Deputy Chief John Pearson and
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Robert S. Johnson are prosecuting the case along
with Trial Attorneys Jeremy R. Sanders and Sarah E. Edwards of the Criminal
Division’s Fraud Section. AUSA Kristine Rollinson is handling the forfeiture
aspects of the case.
The Criminal Division’s
Office of International Affairs, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice and the
Spanish Guardia Civil also provided assistance.
The Fraud Section is
responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters. Additional
information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be
found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.