CITGO-Venezuela Oil Executives Arrested for Corruption

HAVANA TIMES – Venezuela’s acting attorney general, Tarek William Saab, today informed of the arrest of the president and five executives of Citgo, a subsidiary in the United States of state oil company PDVSA, accused of signing financial contracts with conditions harmful to the industry, reported dpa.

Among those detained is the president of Citgo, Jose Pereira, for the case involving the refinancing of some bonds of PDVSA’s debt, without the approval of the Executive.

Those involved, Saab said, signed an agreement on July 15th to refinance the payment programs for the 2014 and 2015 bonds of the oil company. “The contract allowed financing for an amount of up to four billion dollars,” he explained at a press conference.

He indicated that the contract established highly unfavorable loan conditions for PDVSA, with at least two foreign financial companies.

“And the most serious violation was having offered as a guarantee the entire Citgo subsidiary,” said the prosecutor.

Saab said he commissioned a national prosecutor who acted with a court in Caracas to issue arrest warrants, which were carried out today.

The detainees will be charged with embezzlement, money laundering, collusion of public officials with contractors, and association to commit a crime.

The prosecutor said at the press conference that attempts have been made to stop by legal means contracts signed by Citgo’s board of directors that “not only compromised the future of the nation, but the future of this important subsidiary”, in reference to Citgo.