Natalino D’Amato, 61, of Venezuela, has been charged in an 11-count indictment for his role in laundering the proceeds of inflated contracts obtained by making bribe payments to officials at Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).
The indictment, filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleges that D’Amato conspired with others, including officials at joint ventures between PDVSA and various foreign companies in the oil-rich Orinoco belt of Venezuela, to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme to and from bank accounts located in South Florida.
According to the indictment, D’Amato offered and paid bribes to numerous Venezuelan officials who worked at the PDVSA joint ventures in order to obtain highly inflated and lucrative contracts to provide goods and services to the PDVSA joint ventures.
The indictment further alleges that over the course of the conspiracy, companies controlled by D’Amato received approximately $160 million from the PDVSA joint ventures into accounts he controlled in South Florida. D’Amato used a portion of those funds to make payments to or for the benefit of the Venezuelan officials.
The indictment also includes allegations seeking criminal forfeiture of bank accounts involved in the charged offenses, with funds totaling approximately $45 million.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the HSI Miami Field Office and IRS-CI Miami Field Office. Trial Attorney Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Berger of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Public Corruption|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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