On March 22, Jose Shiera Bastidas (Shiera), a Miami-area businessman who owns multiple U.S. energy companies, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to commit wire fraud, as well as to one substantive count of violating the FCPA. Shiera admitted that, beginning in 2009, he made improper payments through U.S. banks to officials of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, in order to secure PDVSA contracts. Shiera's sentencing is set for July 8, 2016. On the same day as his guilty plea, the judge in Shiera's case also unsealed four other guilty pleas that had been entered previously in connection with the same investigation. This includes Shiera's former employee, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, and three former PDVSA employees who all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Also charged in the case is Roberto Enrique Rincon Fernandez of Texas, whose trial is scheduled to begin on April 25, 2016.
According to news reports, U.S. authorities in multiple jurisdictions are currently conducting a wideranging investigation into possible drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes by members of the Venezuelan government and publicsector employees, including current and former employees of PDVSA. Learn more at the FCPA Blog and the WSJ.
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