Luis Fernando Vuteff arrested in the US for alleged money laundering of PDVSA funds

Rafael Ramírez: There is no evidence of corruption against me 1:06 (CNN in Spanish) — Luis Fernando Vuteff, an Argentine businessman who is accused of participating in a US$1.2 billion international money laundering scheme involving the Venezuela’s state-owned energy company, was arrested Thursday, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s investigative department announced on its verified Twitter account. According to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in July, Vuteff, 51, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of a scheme to launder funds allegedly corruptly obtained from Petroleos of Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). According to the release, US authorities allege that between December 2014 and August 2018, Vuteff conspired with others to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme using the US financial system, as well as various bank accounts located abroad. Authorities allege that Vuteff laundered illicit proceeds through a corrupt foreign currency exchange scheme that involved bribery of Venezuelan officials. CNN has not been able to determine if Vuteff has legal representation. CNN is reaching out to Venezuelan officials for comment. If convicted, Vuteff could face up to 20 years in prison. With information from Osmary Hernandez