The network of corruption that was set up within the Venezuelan oil industry led to the creation of a fictitious character with whom those who wanted to enter the business of buying and selling Creole crude had to understand each other.
That character was represented by Daniel Prieto Prieto, who called himself El Chino, as this subject admitted to the National Anti-Corruption Police. This “Chino” was a story, he never existed, but all the high-ranking officers involved in the irregular deals that led to an embezzlement in PDVSA mentioned him and presented him as the person who had the last word to give the green light to this or that company or person.
“Did you talk to El Chino?” was the question asked by senior oil managers who came to get a contract with PDVSA that would allow them to buy oil and resell it outside of Venezuela. “No, who is that Chino?” Asked the applicants to enter the oil business.
Faced with this response that showed ignorance, the officials placed in key positions within PDVSA, sent the person concerned to talk with Daniel Prieto Prieto. But when they got to the young operator, he listened to them with the promise of transmitting everything to alias El Chino. That modus operandi was allegedly reported by Prieto to the agents of the National Police against Corruption, according to judicial sources. “El Chino was me,” the subject admitted.
Daniel Prieto fled Venezuela on March 17, the day the Anti-Corruption Operation began, whose first detainees were Antonio Pérez Suárez (vice president of PDVSA), Joselit Ramírez (head of the National Crypto Assets Superintendency) and deputy Hugbel Roa. Judicial sources indicate that Prieto was Roa’s operator in the oil business. And presumably it was Roa who pushed him to flee to the Dominican Republic.
The island “inadmitted” him and he was captured by the Anti-Corruption Police.
21 arrest warrants in force
William Saab specified that there are 43 people arrested for their alleged links to the PDVSA-Crypto corruption plot, between public officials and financial operators.
Saab also said that 21 arrest warrants are in effect for the same number of people who are on the run.
“All these people are not only being prosecuted in what implies the pre-qualification of the crimes they committed as defendants, but also as defendants, that is, there have been elements of conviction that have led us to conclude that they actually committed actions outside of the law to harm the operation of PDVSA”, said Saab in Venevisión.
