The former United States congressman of the Republican Party in Miami, David Rivera, who signed a consulting contract of 50 million dollars with the government of Nicolás Maduro through PDVSA during the administration of Donald Trump, was arrested this Monday on alleged federal charges related to a consulting contract of 50 million dollars with the government of Nicolás Maduro
David Rivera, a former Republican congressman, was arrested this Monday, December 5, in Atlanta (Giorgia), on alleged federal charges related to a $50 million consulting contract with the government of Nicolás Maduro. This is how he made it known Associated Press news agency.
Marlene Rodríguez, spokeswoman for the Federal Attorney’s Office in Miami, Marlene Rodríguez, indicated that the arrest of Rivera, who was in Congress in Washington between 2011 and 2013, took place this Monday at the Atlanta airport, although it was already set free.
SCOOP: Former Miami Congressman David Rivera has been arrested at Atlanta’s airport in connection to a criminal probe involving a $50 million consulting contract he signed with a US affiliate of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. https://t.co/m371WKlVar
— Joshua Goodman (@APjoshgoodman) December 5, 2022
Rivera-owned Interamerican Consulting was sued in 2020 by PDV USA, a Delaware-based subsidiary of Venezuelan-owned Citgo. It alleges that Rivera did not perform any work for the $50 million contract he signed in 2017 for three months of “strategic consulting” aimed at building bridges with key US stakeholders.
The same contract has been the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Miami who are investigating, among other things, whether Rivera failed to register as a foreign lobbyist as required by law.
Rivera has not been charged with any crimes, but the new documents take a detailed look at his dealings with Venezuela’s state oil industry and how he allegedly spent the money he received.
The new court filing is based on evidence recently discovered by PDV USA attorneys, including 18,000 text and WhatsApp messages from Rivera’s phone and statements he made during a two-day deposition in July.
Rivera received just $15 million of the original amount, but the new filing says he spent some of that on unexplained payments to a convicted drug trafficker and to a company that manages yachts on behalf of a Venezuelan television mogul wanted by US authorities.
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