Venesualen list of Senators receiving money
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Executive summary
There is substantial reporting linking Venezuelan officials and businessmen to multi‑million and billion‑dollar bribery and money‑laundering schemes — including a U.S. case that traced more than $1 billion in illicit payments and a 2018 sentencing of a former treasurer for taking over $1 billion in bribes [1] [2]. U.S. indictments and prosecutions since 2016 have targeted officials, intermediaries and related networks tied to PDVSA and state food programs [1] [3] [4].
1. What investigators have actually proven: prosecutions, pleas and sentences
U.S. prosecutors have secured guilty pleas, indictments and prison sentences tied to Venezuelan corruption. Reuters and AP report that former PDVSA officials pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder proceeds of bribery, with U.S. filings tracing over $1 billion in a scheme stretching 2009–2014 [1]. U.S. courts also sentenced a former Venezuelan national treasurer to 10 years for receiving more than $1 billion in bribery proceeds [2] and a 2024 AP story summarizes other major convictions and sentencing developments in U.S. courts [4] [5].
2. Who the named defendants and intermediaries are (and what they’re accused of)
Reporting names a mix of Venezuelan officials, businessmen and intermediaries. Reuters detailed U.S. charges in 2021 against five people, including a politician from the ruling party and associates of Alex Saab, alleging laundering tied to contracts for the CLAP food program [3]. Earlier DOJ actions named businessmen Roberto Rincón and Abraham José Shiera Bastidas as sources of bribe payments and identified U.S.-based intermediaries who allegedly laundered funds [1].
3. What the evidence and government strategy look like
U.S. cases rely on financial‑trail evidence, cooperating witnesses and international bank records. Reuters noted DOJ tracing of hundreds of millions and transfer of frozen Swiss account funds to the U.S. as part of PDVSA probes [6] [1]. U.S. prosecutors have used money‑laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related charges to build cases against people who used the U.S. financial system to move illicit proceeds [1] [3].
4. Limits of the public record: who is NOT listed in the sources
Available sources do not provide a comprehensive “list of Venezuelan senators receiving money.” The provided reporting names certain officials, businessmen and intermediaries tied to specific schemes, but it does not produce an authoritative roster of current or former Venezuelan senators who received bribes; Reuters and AP report cases and individuals, not a country‑wide paid‑official register [1] [3] [4].
5. Political context and competing narratives
Venezuela’s government styles many cases as U.S. political interference; Reuters reported that state actors framed U.S. probes as sabotage while U.S. prosecutors pursue frozen assets and prosecutions [6]. Conversely, U.S. reporting emphasizes legal evidence of corruption and the use of U.S. courts to hold kleptocrats to account [5]. Both frames appear in the sources: legal documentation and asset tracing on one side, Venezuelan denials and claims of politicization on the other [6] [5].
6. How sanctions and designations have been used alongside prosecutions
U.S. policy tools beyond prosecution include sanctions and visa restrictions. Congressional and CRS reporting notes OFAC’s expanding sanctions lists of Venezuelan officials and entities — hundreds designated by mid‑2025 — and other measures tied to electoral fraud and repression, indicating a blended legal and policy approach to alleged corruption and repression [7] [8].
7. Practical next steps if you want a usable “list”
If you need a verifiable list of named individuals: start with DOJ indictments and plea documents and cross‑check Reuters/AP case coverage for names cited [1] [3] [4]. For sanctioned persons, consult Treasury/OFAC releases summarized in congressional reports [7] [8]. News reporting will identify defendants in major cases, but it will not substitute for primary legal filings or official sanction lists.
8. Bottom line and caveats
Reporting establishes multiple high‑value bribery and money‑laundering schemes involving Venezuelan officials and businessmen, documented by U.S. prosecutions and asset tracing [1] [2] [3]. However, the sources provided do not contain a definitive public roster of Venezuelan senators who received money; assertions beyond the named, charged individuals are not supported in these articles [1] [3] [4].