U.S. Indicts Venezuelan Media Mogul for Alleged Laundering of $1.2B Tied to State Oil Funds

Raúl Gorrín, Venezuelan media mogul with ties to government politicians, faces new federal charges in Miami over allegations of conspiring to launder $1.2 billion reportedly taken from the government of the South American country.

Gorrín, whose influence grew through close ties with late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and current one Nicolás Maduro, acquired control of prominent Venezuelan companies, including insurer Aseguradora La Vitalicia and Globovisión, a news channel which quickly changed its editorial stance regarding the government, going from critical to amicable.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Gorrín collaborated with business associates to bribe high-ranking officials in Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, in exchange for profitable government loan contracts. He then used the proceedings for personal purposes, including buying significant real estate in Florida.

Among Gorrín's properties: a waterfront mansion at 144 Isla Dorada Blvd. in the wealthy Cocoplum enclave in Coral Gables, along with a yacht, as well as least six units in a condo high-rise at 4100 Salzedo St. in Coral Gables, near the tony Shops at Merrick Park.

The indictment alleges that Gorrín held strategic meetings to orchestrate the fund transfers at his office in Caracas and his condo on Fisher Island, Florida. In one instance, he allegedly coordinated the movement of $600 million in oil funds through a European bank to the United States, with a portion reportedly directed toward the stepsons of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The scheme, which began in 2014, reportedly involved loaning bolivars, Venezuela's national currency, to PDVSA and receiving euros or dollars at inflated exchange rates. By 2015, the alleged conspiracy had grown to $1.2 billion.

The indictment builds on a 2018 Miami case involving eight other individuals accused of embezzling from PDVSA, with charges now extended to five additional defendants, including Gorrín, as The Miami Herald reports. While some co-defendants have pleaded guilty and received prison sentences, Gorrín remains at large, reportedly residing in Venezuela or Europe.

He is also involved in a separate case, where he was designated as a fugitive after allegedly bribing a former Venezuelan national treasurer in exchange for government bond contracts.