A former Venezuelan National Guard officer pleaded guilty in a Florida court this Monday to being part of a money laundering scheme that involved bribing officials in the South American country, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Note.
Nepmar Jesús Escalona, 47, admitted participating in a scheme to submit fraudulent applications to Venezuela’s Monetary Regulation Authority, formerly known as CADIVI, between January 2010 and September 2017.
According to court documents, the goal was to trick Escalona and his accomplices into deceiving Banco Benesco, the Central Bank of Venezuela and the country’s customs authorities into delivering US dollars outside of Venezuela.
The requests to CADIVI were submitted ostensibly to finance the importation of food to Venezuela, but were in fact a scheme to enrich the conspirators.
Through their fraud, Escalona and his accomplices managed to transfer approximately $1.7 million from Banco Benesco to an account they controlled at Banco do Brasil.
Members of the plot bribed Venezuelan officials to ensure the success of their plan.
The defendant, who has lived in South Florida since 2014, will be sentenced on May 23. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the crimes.
AFP
(translation of tags)EEUU
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