2 Financial Asset Managers Charged in Venezuelan Money Laundering FCPA Scheme

Financial asset managers Ralph Steinmann of Switzerland and Luis Fernando Vuteff of Argentina have been charged with money laundering in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scheme involving Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVS), the DOJ announced. Steinmann and Vuteff face up to 20 years in prison for their role in a $1.2 billion international scheme. According to court documents, the two conspired with others in a bribery scheme using the U.S. financial system and international bank accounts from 2014 to 2018. Steinmann, Vuteff and others allegedly agreed to create a laundering mechanism to launder $200 million from the scheme and to open bank accounts on behalf of two Venezuelan public officials to receive the bribe payments, the DOJ said.