MIAMI – In a massive crackdown on illicit financial activities, a U.S. District Judge has ordered the forfeiture of over $20 million in foreign bribery and money laundering proceeds from a Venezuelan national, Naman Wakil.
According to allegations, from 2008 to 2014, Wakil controlled a number of companies that sold food products to Venezuela’s state-owned food agency, Corporacion de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agricola (CASA). To obtain these food contracts, Wakil paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to multiple presidents of CASA. As a result of those bribes, Wakil, through his companies, obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds into accounts he controlled in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. Wakil laundered the proceeds from the scheme into South Florida and elsewhere.
The Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint against approximately $21,248,434.25 in U.S. currency alleging that the funds were proceeds of foreign bribery and money laundering offenses. On Jan. 8, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian entered a final judgment forfeiting to the United States over $20 million in foreign bribery and money laundering proceeds, including interest.
‘This forfeiture is a reminder that the United States is prepared to uphold the integrity of the U.S. financial system against those who elect to launder ill-gotten gains by depositing and transferring those funds through U.S. financial accounts and acquiring assets in an attempt to cover their tracks,’ said Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Naman Wakil, Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering, Florida 2023
Defendant: Naman Wakil
Crime: Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering
State: Florida
Year: 2023
Amount: Over $20 million
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Foreign Bribery & Money Laundering
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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