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I know, I know, today's a Sunday, mothers' day in the UK, but the stuff in Twitter from @jescotet is just too good to ignore. Check out the following tweets:
For those who don't know who this gentleman is: meet Juan Carlos Escotet, owner of BANESCO, according to Wikipedia (handle with care) THE LARGEST BANK IN VENEZUELA!
Forgive the caps, but we are talking about the majority shareholder and chairman of Venezuela's largest bank. We are talking about a man who's just got -through a €1 billion bid whose funds probably nobody checked- Novagalicia in Spain. We are talking about a man who cut his teeth in Venezuela's 'financial world' with convicted criminal and money launderer Orlando Castro.
Escotet's BANESCO has been mentioned in a recent lawsuit. Allegedly, the Derwick boys paid through BANESCO Panama a $50 million kickback to President of Venezuela's Congress, Diosdado Cabello. That's a very serious allegation, that merits a very serious and measured reply.
Juan Carlos Escotet, who seems to resent associations with Derwick Associates, posing with Derwick's Pedro Trebbau.
Well, the first reply was a press release, where BANESCO says: 1) that the beneficiary of that payment is not a BANESCO client, and 2) that no transaction has taken place between Derwick Associates and Diosdado Cabello. Would it be a stretch to say that BANESCO, which is not a party to mentioned lawsuit, is admitting that Derwick Associates is a client? How can BANESCO claim that "beneficiary of that payment is not a BANESCO client", if not by checking Derwick Associates account?
And what to make of his tweets above? There's talk in Twitter that Escotet's account has been hacked. Readers must remember that BANESCO's and Escotet's social media is run by none other than convicted criminal RaFa, the hacker. It the account was hacked, that leaves the reputation of this 'ethical hacker' in tatters. But if it wasn't, and, as claimed, it hasn't been hacked, it's even worse. For Escotet that is.
The first tweet is about "Oscarcito", a rather pejorative way of referring to who's probably recognised as Venezuela's best banker, Oscar Garcia Mendoza.
The second tweet is about "amitos del vale", another pejorative reference to Caracas' most powerful and wealthy families from back in the day when Chavez wasn't in power.
In the third Escotet says he'll go even to celestial courts to "seek justice". What justice is he seeking?
In the fourth Escotet, or whoever is in control of his Twitter account, claims that his account has not been hacked. He says he "won't allow more abuses from these failed" people. To whom is he referring?
Then in fifth tweet, he accuses former secretary of Banco Venezolano de Credito's board and chairman, of "financing" Thor Halvorssen's Human Right Foundation.
Reactions, as customary in Twitter, are hilarious. The one I like the most was someone pointing at the irony, evidently lost in Escotet, of derisively mentioning Caracas' powerful (coming from one Venezuela's wealthiest men).
Yesterday I was writing in an open letter about the possible reasons that have prompted reactions from Derwick Associates, BANESCO, and DAVOS Financial. In my opinion, all three groups can only conceive the world through their Venezuela-glasses. It follows that they are utterly clueless about how the real world works. The lawsuit that caused the reaction also mentions, quite explicitly, JP Morgan, which has not uttered a peep, and most probably won't even dignify the whole affaire with a reply unless forced to. But these other 'businessmen' seemed to have missed pretty popular wisdom, such as "when in a hole...", "everything that you say could be used against you", and more importantly, that everyone's innocent until proven guilty. Their reaction suggest that they don't feel as innocent as they should, if they are.
But what's best about this tirade by Escotet, is that this is the guy who brags about operating in 15 countries. This is the guy who thinks he's the best of the crop in chavistaland. This is the guy who runs one of Venezuela's biggest banks, and is expanding to Spain, where everyone from financial authorities to the press believes he's a serious and honourable banker.
We are witnessing, in real time, how the entire chavista building is crashing down.
