Message to INFODIO readers: investigative journalism, which is what this site does, takes lots of time. Visiting media looking for a quick run down on Venezuela's gargantuan corruption, have the decency to at least cite the source when plagiarising this site's content without attribution (exhibit Reuters here and here, exhibit Bloomberg here, exhibit OCCRP here). To all readers, do the right thing, the honest thing: support independent investigative journalism, help us expose rampant corruption. Note added 28/06/2021: impostors are using INFODIO's former editor's full name, and a fake email address (alek.boyd.arregui at gmail.com) to send copyright infringement claims / take down requests to web hosting companies (exhibit Hostgator). The attempt is yet another effort paid by corrupt thugs to erase information about their criminal activities. Infodio.com has no issues with other websites / journalists using / posting information published here, so long as the source is properly cited.
Gotham City has been on a streak lately, and today it comes with another excellent report on Union Bank, another "money laundering concern" in Liechtenstein that was servicing none other than Alex Saab, Nicolas Maduro's personal representative. Saab was arrested in June in Cape Verde, when en route to Iran to conduct Maduro's affairs.
The recent revelation that a Swiss watchdog had frozen $900 million in cash belonging to an Angolan "businessman" caused surprise in some quarters. Evidently, those surprised must have forgotten already the FIFA scandal. They must have missed also news about Michael Lauber. For those who haven't been following, that'd be Switzerland's Attorney General, basically in bed with the FIFA thugs he was meant to be investigating. We then have Swiss banks, historically the pride and joy and a considerable chunk of Switzerland's economy.
David Boies is a household name in American legal circles. He's defended the rich, the famous, the disgraced, the thugs, and everything in between. Boies' adventures in Venezuela, were it not for a long series of exposés in this website, are mostly unknown.
Local sources in Venezuela reported yesterday the assassination of Leonardo Santilli, a PDVSA contractor. Santilli was already in the crosshairs of U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) for bribing PDVSA officials to obtain procurement contracts, which is PDVSA's standard operating procedure. The novelty here is that Santilli appears to have been hit by contract killers, allegedly due to his disposition to collaborate with DoJ.
PDVSA has found a way to beat sanctions from U.S. Department of the Treasury. According to shipping line up data seen by this site, it exported a total of 16.5 million barrels of crude in August. Spain's Repsol, Italy's ENI and India's Reliance regularly lifted crude. In addition, new completely unknown and dodgy operators associated to Alex Saab's network continued taking crude to Singapore, for StS transfer onto China-bound cargoes.
Carmelo Urdaneta Aqui, former PDVSA legal counsel and Rafael Ramirez confidant, handed himself over to the Feds.
Carmelo Urdaneta Aqui, former PDVSA legal counsel and Rafael Ramirez confidant, handed himself over to the Feds.
Carmelo Urdaneta Aqui, former PDVSA legal counsel and Rafael Ramirez confidant, handed himself over to the Feds.
AP reported the other day that Harvest Natural Resources had dropped its lawsuit against former PDVSA CEO and Minister of Energy Rafael Ramirez. No information about settlements was published. Then Harvest filed a form 8-K with the SEC, which reads:
Juan Guaido isn't very bright, that much is more than evident already. He's come up with a 'new roadmap', which is a consultation plan -with same useless politicos that have allowed Nicolas Maduro to lord over Venezuela, for a new plan, which will rehash / relaunch the old plan of "1) cese de la usurpacion, 2) gobierno de transición, 3) elecciones libres"... well, better to listen from the horse's mouth:
Hemos construido y vamos a exponer una hoja de ruta para enfrentar al fraude y salvar a Venezuela.
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