On Monday, Venezuela’s oil minister Tareck El Aissami announced his resignation, and at least six officials were arrested following police corruption probes, including at PDVSA.
“In light of the investigations that have commenced into severe instances of corruption at PDVSA, I have decided to tender my resignation as Minister of Oil, intending to assist, accompany and wholeheartedly back this process,” tweeted El Aissami, who has been a minister since 2020.
State media and sources claimed on Monday that Venezuelan anti-graft police detained a mayor, two judges, three government officials, and at least two PDVSA employees for alleged corruption.
Venezuela, which Transparency International calls opaque, seldom arrests government officials for corruption.
Advertisement Continue scrolling.
El Aissami rejects his 2017 U.S. penalties for narcotics trafficking.
Colonel Antonio Perez, former Petroleos de Venezuela vice president of business and supply, was detained, according to three sources (PDVSA).
Two sources stated officials detained Colonel Samuel Testamarck, general manager of PDV Marina, PDVSA’s marine unit.
One source stated the PDVSA arrests were related to an investigation into oil shipments leaving the nation without payment, and other officials were suspended.
PDVSA and the State Prosecutor’s office did not immediately comment.
On Monday, state TV reported the arrests of Joselit Ramirez, the former director of the crypto-asset watchdog, and Mayor Pedro Hernandez of Las Tejerias, a region battered by floods that killed dozens late last year.
Without details, the network reported that judges Cristobal Cornieles and José Marquez Garcia were held.
The State Prosecutor’s office designated five prosecutors to examine “crimes relating to different departments of government and affecting vital areas for national development” on Sunday. It didn’t elaborate.
Since 2018, Ramirez has led Sunacrip, which issues Venezuela’s petro digital coin. On Saturday, the official gazette announced his dismissal.
Ultimas Noticias, a pro-government publication, disclosed Ramirez’s PDVSA-related investigations.
The Prosecutor’s Office arrested many executives and two former PDVSA presidents in months of raids in 2017.
In 2018, PDVSA officials were arrested for administrative errors that damaged crude upgraders.
Comment Template