Two financial asset managers have been charged with money laundering as part of a $1.2 billion international scheme to launder funds corruptly obtained from Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), federal officials stated.
According to the indictment returned Tuesday in Florida, Ralph Steinmann, 48, of Switzerland, and Luis Fernando Vuteff, 51, of Argentina, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The court documents charged Steinmann and Vuteff on June 12, that beginning in or around December 2014 to August 2018, Steinmann and Vuteff conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme using the U.S. financial system as well as various bank accounts located abroad.
The conspirators laundered the illicit proceeds in connection with a corrupt foreign currency exchange scheme involving bribery of Venezuelan officials.
Steinmann, Vuteff, and others allegedly discussed and agreed to create the sophisticated financial mechanisms and relationships required to launder more than $200 million related to the scheme as well as open accounts for at least two Venezuelan public officials to receive their bribe payments related to the scheme.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
HSI Miami is investigating the case
Trial Attorney Paul A. Hayden of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt K. Lunkenheimer for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.