US Charges 2 People With Smuggling Goods to Sanctioned Venezuelan Firms
A Venezuelan national and a U.S. citizen were arrested on June 13 and charged with violating U.S. sanctions on Venezuela by selling "chemical catalysts, industrial equipment, and associated services" to sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies, DOJ announced. The Venezuelan national, Juan Carlos Cairo-Padron, and the U.S. citizen, Thomas Fortinberry, both face a maximum of 20 years in prison for sanctions and money laundering counts and 10 years in prison for smuggling.
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DOJ alleged that starting in 2022, Cairo and Fortinberry sold millions of dollars in catalysts, industrial equipment and related services, at times through companies they owned or controlled, including "DRI Reformers and Reformer Technologies." The goods allegedly were sold to sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned steel company Complejo Siderurgico de Guayana.
Cairo and Fortinberry used Chinese suppliers to send the goods directly from China to Venezuela and, "in at least one instance," directly from the U.S. to Venezuela, DOJ alleged. They also transferred millions of dollars between bank accounts in the U.S., Spain and China, DOJ said.