Madrid/The businessman Alejandro Betancourtwhich has become a central piece of Donald Trump’s new oil strategy in Venezuela, built its entry into the hydrocarbon business through a business structure shared with Gazprombank, one of the main Russian state banks and sanctioned by the United States for financing the war in Ukraine.
The information has been published by various mediaamong them the Spanish newspaper ABCand its main sources are a report prepared by a group of Venezuelan researchers in Washington and business and banking documents reviewed for years by entities such as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (Occrp, for its acronym in English). The reconstruction places Betancourt and his partners in a company shared with Russian interests, Gazprombank Latin America Ventures – incorporated in the Netherlands –, which ended up participating in Petrozamora, a mixed company that exploited oil fields together with Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The link is significant because Washington presents its new oil policy as a way to reduce the influence of Russia and China on Venezuelan reserves. The White House has placed the company North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep), controlled by Betancourt, at the center of an agreement that allows 17 fields with some 65 billion barrels of reserves to be exploited for a century. The Pentagon, through its Office of Strategic Capital, will have 35% of Nabep’s parent company, while the State Department will have preferential access to a part of its production.
The link is significant because Washington presents its new oil policy as a way to reduce the influence of Russia and China over Venezuelan reserves.
According to ABC, Betancourt had begun to make contacts in Washington years ago. In 2017, Hawkers, the well-known sunglasses brand and one of the companies under its control, turned to Ballard Partners to carry out lobby. Susie Wiles, who currently heads Trump’s office in the White House, worked at that lobbying company. Two years later, Betancourt hired Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor and then Trump’s personal lawyer, to represent him as the Justice Department examined his businesses. Giuliani even participated in a meeting with Justice officials in which the businessman’s defense tried to prevent him from being charged.
At the same time as he built his relations with Washington, Betancourt cultivated ties with Moscow. His entry into Venezuelan oil occurred after his company Derwick, initially dedicated to the electricity sector, partnered with Gazprombank to create a structure that ended up controlling 40% of Petrozamora. Bank documents cited by Occrp recorded million-dollar transfers between those companies. In 2017, Venezuelan authorities investigated irregularities in Petrozamora and arrested nine people linked to PDVSA.
In 2019, Betancourt traveled to Russia to try to convince Vladimir Putin’s government to stop supporting Nicolás Maduro, at the request of Juan Guaidó’s entourage. The management failed and Betancourt lost control of his interests in Petrozamora. His return to the oil business ended up coinciding with Washington’s turn toward the exploitation of Venezuelan reserves.
The Venezuelan’s business career has been accompanied by accusations of corruption and money laundering. Occrp documented the passage of money from its electricity and oil businesses through Swiss accounts and companies in Barbados, Panama and Luxembourg, although investigations have not determined that Petrozamora was used to launder funds. Betancourt has repeatedly denied having committed crimes and maintains that the origin of his assets is legitimate.
The Venezuelan businessman is being investigated in Spain for money laundering – plus 4,000 million dollars from PDVSA – and tax evasion
The Venezuelan businessman is being investigated in Spain for money laundering – plus 4,000 million dollars from PDVSA – and tax evasion. Judge Santiago Pedraz had provisionally filed the case in March, but the Criminal Chamber ordered it to be reopened in June at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation now remains awaiting a response from US authorities to a request for cooperation to interrogate five witnesses convicted in the US. Pedraz has warned that if Washington does not respond before December, he could archive the procedure again. Betancourt denies the accusations and maintains that the origin of his assets is legitimate.
In Switzerland, the Zurich Prosecutor’s Office is maintaining another investigation into alleged money laundering despite having withdrawn the extradition request from the United Kingdom in May.
Meanwhile, the Trump Government has made the businessman under investigation one of its main interlocutors to reorganize the Venezuelan oil business.
