Venezuelan man prosecuted in US for money laundering related to Petropiar oil joint venture According to Reuters

(Reuters) – A Venezuelan man has been indicted for allegedly laundering proceeds from inflated procurement contracts obtained through millions of dollars in bribes to officials at Venezuelan oil company Petropiar. , the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Rixon Moreno, 46, allegedly received benefits including more than $30 million in payments for contracts ranging from Petropiar to accounts in South Florida and paid millions of dollars in bribes to officials. Petropiar’s senior position, the agency said in a statement.

“Illustating this, Moreno has received approximately $2.7 million from a contract to supply breathing apparatus to Petropiar, a contract whose price is said to have increased 100 times actual costs,” the statement said. write.

Moreno agreed to pay a $1 million bribe to a Venezuelan state official to bring in another as a senior official in Petropiar’s procurement department, according to the statement.

A federal grand jury in Miami has returned an indictment that charges Moreno with charges including conspiracy to launder money, concealing money laundering and engaging in transactions involving criminally sourced assets. .

Petropiar is a joint venture between the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and the US oil company Chevron Corp. (NYSE:)

PDVSA and Chevron did not immediately respond to requests for comment.