Raul Golin Bellisario, owner of Globovision, allegedly participated in a $1.2 billion scheme to launder corrupt oil money.
The United States has indicted a Venezuelan media mogul with ties to President Nicolas Maduro on charges of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the indictment of Raul Gorin Bellisario, owner of Venezuela’s pro-government news network Globovision.
The newspaper said that Gorin’s purpose was to “launder funds fraudulently obtained from Venezuela’s state-run energy company Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in bribe payments to Venezuelan government officials.” He said he was involved in a $1.2 billion plan.
He is still at large, but if caught and convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
“Golin’s actions enriched corrupt government officials and exploited America’s financial system to facilitate these crimes,” said Nicole M. Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Ta.
This is not the first time Mr. Golin, who owns a mansion in Miami, has been a target of the US legal system.
Back in 2020, Mr. Golin was charged with money laundering and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and was placed on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Most Wanted List.
In this case, Mr. Gorin is accused of bribing Venezuelan officials to provide the government with a favorable exchange rate. The bribes allegedly included millions of dollars in wire transfers and payments for private jets, yachts, luxury homes, luxury watches and fashion lines.
The crime fell under U.S. jurisdiction because Golin and his associates planned the bribe payments from South Florida and routed some of the money to bank accounts in Florida and New York, according to the indictment.
Gorin evaded arrest at the time and was later seen living in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Univision reported.
The U.S. government, a fierce critic of Venezuelan President Maduro, has long pursued senior Venezuelan officials it accuses of engaging in corruption.
In September, the government sanctioned 12 pro-Maduro officials for their role in fraud in the disputed presidential election, which declared Maduro the winner.
But the opposition claims the results show that its candidate actually won.
