Ariana Cubillos (AP)
The Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA) looting plot paid $350,000 (about 325,900 euros) in 2012 to Fidel Ramírez Carreno, former energy minister under the executive power of former President Hugo Fal Ramsey and brother of Petroleum. Documents accessed by EL PAÍS.
Joaquin Gil & Jose Maria Irujo
During the Chávez mandates (1999-2013), the businessman Luis Mariano Rodríguez Cabello, who is on trial in Andorra for extorting 2,000 million dollars from an oil company, was in charge of distributing the money to a relative of Rafael Ramírez.
The strongman of the Bolivarian Revolution, Rafael Ramírez, played a key role as a Chavista leader in the administration of the prolific Venezuelan oil reserves. He directed the Ministry of Strategic Energy (2002-2014), headed the state oil company (2002-2014) and was Venezuela's ambassador to the UN. His trip was cut short in 2017 when he broke with his government after strongly attacking current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Why is it that Sati allegedly bribed Chavista Zirbalkhan's brother to rob PTVSA? The answer must be sought in the functioning of the organization. A system that charges companies, especially Chinese companies, commissions of up to 10% in exchange for opening the door to awards from the state oil company. In parallel, he paid PDVSA executives to handle million-dollar contracts, according to Andorran investigators.
Fidel Ramírez, a doctor specializing in gastroenterology, was part of the leadership of the state oil company in 2012 when his brother, the Minister of All Powers of Petroleum, appointed him General Director of Health and Support Services of the public company.
An analysis of the transfer to a relative of the former Chavista leader reveals that the mastermind of the conspiracy managed the payment to Fidel Ramírez through Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA), which concealed the looting of the collateral. A relative of Rafael Ramirez siphoned $350,000 from the scheme into an account at a CreditCorp bank in Panama, according to the documents.
To justify the transfer, the corruption group's straw man told the bank that his Panamanian firm High Advisory and Consulting owed $350,000 to a relative of Chávez's former minister.
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