CARACAS: At least 42 officials were arrested in Venezuela in a major anti-corruption drive sweep in state-owned oil company PDVSA and other government departments.
The prosecutor’s office said Saturday that the crackdown kicked on March 17 following a communique issued by the anti-corruption police that called for prosecuting officials who “may be involved in serious acts of corruption and misappropriation.”
According to AFP, Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami resigned over the graft investigation, while the anti-corruption drive has targeted officials in PDVSA and other public entities.
On Twitter, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that his office had arrested “42 people linked to various corruption matters that had sought to embezzle the national economy.
The arrest of state-owned Corporacion Venezolana Guayana president Pedro Maldonado and officials from metals firm SIDOR was the high-profile detention made so far
The officials were charged with misappropriating public funds, laundering money, influence-peddling and treason, the prosecutor said during a March 25 press conference.
Judicial sources told AFP that Maldonado, previously director of the Central Bank of Venezuela, was allegedly part of a corruption scheme led by former legislator Hugbel Roa, who was earlier arrested during a crackdown. For years, Roa remained a significant leader of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
El Aissami, who was under US sanctions, was also part of the ruling party and had previously served as Venezuela’s vice-president and minister of the interior and industry.
So far, the amount embezzled had not been disclosed, but media reports place it at aroud $3 billion.
