Ten Charged in Sanctions Evasion Scheme

MIAMI – In a brazen scheme to evade US sanctions, 10 defendants have been charged with conspiring to export millions of dollars’ worth of aircraft parts from the United States to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).

The indictment, unsealed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) USAO in Florida, alleges that between January 2019 and December 2021, the defendants devised a plan to procure aircraft parts, including Honeywell Turbofan Engines, from the United States to service PDVSA’s aircraft fleet in Venezuela, in direct violation of US sanctions and export controls.

To carry out this scheme, the defendants concealed the true destination of the goods by exporting them to third parties in other countries, including Novax Group SA in Costa Rica and Aerofalcon SL in Spain. The Department of Commerce added both companies to its Entity List in November 2023.

The defendants include four individuals associated with PDVSA: Gilberto Ramon Araujo Prieto, 54, a PDVSA air transport manager and colonel in the Venezuelan military; Guillermo Ysrael Marval Rivero, 62, and Fernando Jose Blequett Landaeta, 52, both PDVSA air transport managers and logistics analysts responsible for procurement; and George Clemente Semerene Quintero, 60, PDVSA’s head of logistics, procurement, and warehousing.

Four individuals associated with Novax are also charged: Luis Alberto Duque Carvajal, 63, the owner of Novax; Melvin Aleman Espinoza, 39, Novax’s director of operations; Mikhail Largin, 60, Novax’s director of special projects; and Pedro Elias Sucre Salazar, 58, a Novax employee located in Venezuela.

Two individuals associated with Aerofalcon are also named: Juan Carlos Gonzalez Perez, 60, the owner of Aerofalcon; and Juan David Guerra Viera, 54, a director for Aerofalcon. All defendants are charged with conspiring to violate the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made the announcement.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 21-CR-20589.