Shell Game on the High Seas: U.S. Busts Turkish National in Venezuela Oil Smuggling Ring

A 37-year-old Turkish national has been apprehended in Miami on charges of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and the Maduro regime.

The arrest sheds light on an intricate scheme allegedly designed to transport oil from Venezuela, benefiting the country’s state-owned oil giant, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA).

The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Taskin Torlak was at the center of a complex operation aimed at circumventing sanctions imposed on PdVSA.

According to the complaint, Torlak’s alleged activities began around November 2020. The scheme reportedly involved sophisticated methods to conceal the identities of oil tankers, including renaming and re-flagging vessels, physically covering ship names, and disabling tracking systems, purportedly employed to evade detection by U.S. authorities and maritime entities.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.

The financial aspect of the operation was equally complex. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA for transporting Venezuelan oil. To facilitate these transactions, they reportedly obscured the true beneficiaries, leading U.S. financial institutions to unwittingly process payments related to the scheme.

“Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves explaining,

Torlak, who was apprehended as he attempted to leave the United States, faces charges under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

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