The US accuses the owner of a Venezuelan channel of money laundering

The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday that the owner of a Venezuelan television news network was charged in an alleged $1.2 billion money laundering scheme.

Raúl Gorrín Belisario, 56, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Florida for his role in a scheme “to launder funds corruptly obtained from the company (…) Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in exchange for hundreds millions in bribe payments to Venezuelan officials,” the Justice Department said.

According to court documents, between 2014 and 2018, Gorrín “conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme using the U.S. financial system, as well as several bank accounts located abroad,” paying “millions of dollars” to high-level Venezuelan officials to obtain contracts.

Furthermore, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice, he directed part of the illicit profits to the Southern District of Florida, where he purchased “real estate, yachts and other luxury items.”

“Gorrin’s alleged conduct enriched corrupt government officials and exploited the United States financial system to facilitate these crimes. “Together with our partners, the Criminal Division remains committed to ensuring that the United States is not a safe haven for carrying out money laundering schemes or hiding criminal proceeds,” said U.S. Attorney Nicole M. Argentieri, Chief of the Department’s Criminal Division. of Justice.

Gorrín, who if found guilty could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, is a lawyer and businessman sanctioned in 2019 by the Office of Asset Control of the US Department of the Treasury (OFAC), for allegedly having paid millions of dollars in bribes to Venezuelan officials to “obtain rights to carry out currency exchange transactions at rates favorable to the government.

He is the owner of Globovision, a television channel that until he acquired it maintained a critical and independent editorial line, and for years received threats and attacks from the Chavista government.

Gorrín is on the “most wanted” list of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).

[Parte de la información provino de Reuters]

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