On the witness list for the upcoming trial of Claudia Díaz, a former Venezuelan treasurer and Hugo Chávez’s nurse, is Alejandro Andrade, who preceded Díaz as National Treasurer and who was released after serving less than half of a 10-year sentence. years for money laundering
The trial in the United States for money laundering against the former national treasurer of Venezuela, Claudia Patricia Díaz Guillén and her husband, Adrián José Velásquez Figueroa, who was head of security for Hugo Chávez, It will start on Monday, November 21. It is expected that it will last approximately two weeks and will have the former treasurer Alejandro Andrade as a “star witness”, according to court documents.
Díaz and Velásquez are accused of accepting at least $65 million in bribes from Raúl Gorrín, a wealthy Caracas businessman close to pro-government ruler Nicolás Maduro who prosecutors say he used his political connections to gain access to the hugely lucrative official exchange rate regime.
In recent months, the lawyers for Chávez’s nurse, accused of three crimes related to money laundering, have tried unsuccessfully to get the judge to accept the argument that the US government lacks “extraterritorial jurisdiction” to judge it.
Andrade was released after the 65% reduction of his original sentence of 10 years in prison in United States. The former official had pleaded guilty and was sentenced in October 2018 for having participated in an illicit association to launder more than 1,000 million dollars in bribes.
Other witnesses called to the trial is Alejandro Zingg, a Venezuelan businessman linked to Andrade. According to international media, Zingg has been associated with two companies, according to public records, formed in a period of one year and with which he maintained links with several of those involved in the illegal operations, including the one who was Chávez’s bodyguard.
Witness list for upcoming trial of former Venezuela Treasurer (and Hugo Chavez’s nurse) Claudia Diaz.
Star witness appears to be Alejandro Andrade, who preceded Diaz as Treasurer and was released after serving less than half of a 10-year sentence for money laundering. pic.twitter.com/Xl92XRlysL
— Joshua Goodman (@APjoshgoodman) November 18, 2022
*Read also: Former Treasurer Claudia Díaz complains about US “blockades” to sabotage her defense
Both Díaz and her husband have dual Venezuelan-Spanish nationality. The two were detained in Spain in 2021 after the United States claimed them for crimes related to money laundering.
The defense asserts that neither Díaz, who has pleaded not guilty, nor Velásquez Figueroa “transmitted, transported, or transferred any monetary instrument to the United States in furtherance of any unlawful activity.”
The couple, along with Alejandro Andrade and Raúl Gorrín, are among dozens of former Venezuelan government officials, businessmen and associates who are accused of money laundering in Miami; this as a result of a series of corruption investigations abroad.
With information from AP and Efe
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