The former Venezuelan national treasurer and her husband have been convicted in a billion-dollar currency exchange, bribery and money laundering scheme.
A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida found Claudia Patricia Diaz Guillen, 49, and her husband, Adrian Jose Velasquez Figueroa, 43, both Venezuelan citizens, guilty of the international bribery scheme. They were extradited earlier this year from Madrid, Spain, a Dec. 15 news release said.
“Unfortunately, people in positions of power and public trust sometimes break that trust and use their power for selfish gain,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Juan Antonio Gonzalez said in the release. “We will remain vigilant in our fight against corruption and prosecute guilty parties to the fullest extent.”
Diaz and Velasquez were each “found guilty of one count of conspiring to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering,” the release said. Velasquez was found guilty of a second count of money laundering. Diaz and Velasquez face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count when sentenced Feb. 21, 2023.
According to the release, Diaz and Velasquez reportedly accepted bribes of more than $100 million from Raul Gorrin Belisario, 54, a Venezuelan billionaire businessman who owned Globovision news network. Gorrin paid the bribes to obtain access to purchase bonds at a favorable exchange rate from the Venezuela National Treasury. The result was “hundreds of millions of dollars in profit.”
“The conspiracy involved bulk cash hidden in cardboard boxes, offshore shell companies, Swiss bank accounts and international wire transfers sent by Gorrin,” the release said. “Gorrin was charged by indictment in August 2018 and remains charged in the superseding indictment as a co-conspirator in the same money laundering scheme. He is currently a fugitive residing in Venezuela."
Kenneth Polite Jr., assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the Criminal Division and its partners will vigorously fight bribery and hold corrupt officials accountable whether at home or abroad, according to the release.
“Claudia Patricia Diaz Guillen and Adrian Jose Velasquez Figueroa laundered bribes Diaz received as the Venezuelan National Treasurer,” Polite said in the release. “Diaz abused her position as a public official to line her pockets with more than a hundred million dollars, which she and her co-conspirators spent on private jets and yachts and laundered through the U.S. financial system.”
