MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd April, 2023) The Venezuelan law enforcement agencies arrested 42 people on corruption suspicions, Venezuelan Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said on Sunday.
"To date, the Venezuelan Prosecutor General's Office, together with auxiliary bodies, managed to arrest 42 individuals associated with various corruption schemes, who sought to plunder ... the country's economy, causing damage to the entire society," Saab tweeted.
On Wednesday, court documents revealed that the former counsel for Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA pleaded guilty in a Miami Federal court on money laundering charges in connection with a conspiracy to siphon millions from the state. Alvaro Ledo Nass, 43, admitted to taking bribes totaling $11.5 million while serving in senior roles at PDVSA. Nass is one of many former Venezuelan officials charged or convicted in the US as part of a multi-year investigation aimed at deconstructing how these individuals stole billions from Venezuela, called Operation Money Flight.
Last week, over 20 government officials and entrepreneurs had been reportedly detained in Venezuela in the PDVSA corruption case. On March 20, Venezuelan Petroleum Minister Tareck El Aissami announced his resignation in order to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
