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Bloomberg
President Nicolas Maduro is a principal suspect in a US investigation into the embezzlement of more than $1 billion from the South American country’s state-owned oil company, the Miami Herald reported, as the US adds to the pressure on the socialist leader.
Maduro, his three stepsons and other Venezuelan government officials are being investigated for links to an international money-laundering conspiracy tied to Petroleos de Venezuela SA, known as PDVSA, the newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation that it didn’t identify.
Venezuela’s leader isn’t mentioned in a criminal complaint filed in Miami federal court, but there are references to him as “Venezuelan Official 2,†according to Miami Herald. Officials with the Venezuelan information ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Maduro’s stepsons were described by the Herald’s sources as having received an estimated $200 million in funds stolen from Venezuela, wired to a European bank in late 2014 and 2015. The deposits were among 10 wire transfers totaling about $600 million, according to a Homeland Security Investigations criminal complaint.