DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Poland's former Ambassador to Belarus, Mariusz Maszkiewicz, has accused the government of Belarus of using the state-owned oil company, Belneftekhim, to commit money laundering for Petroleos de Venezuela, also known as PdVsa, Venezuela's state-owned oil company. This explosive allegation has been met with a denial from the Venezuelan Embassy in Belarus. Add to this the pointed warning published last week by OFAC, regarding the perils of doing business even indirectly with Belneftekhim, and it is obvious that PdVsa has been in violation of the OFAC sanctions and Presidential Exeutive Order regarding the Belarusian oil agency. Will fines and penalties now be issued, or will PdVsa itself be sanctioned? In light of the fact that OFAC sanctions are anticipated shortly against Venezuelan governmental entities, PdVsa could easily be one of them. Will that destroy the Venezuelan economy?
- Last week, World-Check warned you about the unusually strong statement issued by OFAC regarding Belneftekhim, also known as the Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry. Our article, Is OFAC Guidance on Belarus a Pointed Warning? World-Check 9 March, 2008, bluntly advised our readers to watch any transactions with companies that could remotely involve any direct or indirect interest of Belneftekhim.
- Belneftkhim, and its US subsidiary, Belneftkhim USA Inc., of Metheun, Massachusetts (FEIN 000920912) , were first listed as Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) on 13 November, 2007. If diplomats, who usually are the soul of discretion, are going public with allegations of PdVsa money laundering through Belarus, then you know there is a major problem.
- Reliable US sources have described a billion-dollar global PdVsa money laundering enterprise, details of which have come to light during the extensive ongoing investigation, by American law enforcement agencies, of the use of the worldwide financial structure by corrupt Venezuelan government officials, intent on secreting as much as they can of their illicit cash before the eventual economic implosion of the Chavez regime.
Will OFAC sanction PdVsa? We cannot say, but if I was an officer at an American company in the petrochemical field, I would be working nights and weekends to close out all my company's dealings with that entity, before the OFAC tsunami hits Petroleos de Venezuela.
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