Wellington-based Venezuelan accused in bribe scandal

A former national treasurer of Venezuela who lives in a 9,000-square-foot Wellington estate has admitted he received more than $1 billion in bribes to allow other business leaders to raid the nation’s coffers, pushing the country into financial chaos, according to federal court papers released Tuesday.

Alejandro Andrade, 54, who has been a player in Wellington’s equestrian scene since moving into the gated Palm Beach Point community in 2012, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy in connection with a global money-laundering scheme that devastated the once-wealthy nation, according to federal court records unsealed Tuesday.

A former bodyguard to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and father of a prominent Olympic show jumper, Andrade faces a maximum 10-year prison term when he is sentenced Tuesday.

How Hugo Chavez’ onetime bodyguard fits into Wellington horse country

The revelations about Andrade’s long-suspected involvement in the massive scheme came a day after similar corruption allegations were made in an indictment that was unsealed against 50-year-old Venezuelan lawyer and businessman Raul Gorrin Belisario in Fort Lauderdale.

The owner of the Venezuelan television network, Globovision, Gorrin has been charged with money-laundering and violating the foreign corrupt practices act. He has not been arrested.

The two interlocking cases — along with the recent arrests of other top Venezuelan officials — paint a vivid portrait of the corruption under the late President Hugo Chavez that now finds Venezuelan people fleeing across the border to Colombia in search of food and medical supplies.

In both cases, federal prosecutors say the two men engaged in a mutually beneficial bribery scheme. Their lawyers couldn’t be reached for comment.

Gorrin paid millions in bribes to Andrade and another top Venezuelan official to secure the rights to conduct foreign currency exchange transactions for the Venezuelan government at favorable rates, prosecutors claim. The other official is believed to be Claudia Patricia Díaz Guillén, who succeeded Andrade as national treasurer. She is in jail in Spain, fighting extradition to Venezuela.

In addition to wiring tens of millions of dollars to Andrade and Diaz, Gorrin is accused of buying them high-priced gifts, including private jets, yachts, homes, champion horses, high-end watches and a fashion line, according to the indictment.

To conceal the bribes, Gorrin made payments through multiple shell companies and Swiss bank accounts, federal prosecutors said. Gorrin teamed up with Gabriel Arturo Jimenez Aray to buy Banco Peravia, a bank in the Dominican Republic, to launder the bribe payments, they said.

Jimenez, a Venezuelan citizen living in Chicago, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money-laundering on March 20 in federal court in West Palm Beach, according to documents unsealed Tuesday. He is to be sentenced Nov. 29.

Through it all, Andrade became fabulously rich.

As national treasurer from 2007 to 2010, Andrade was listed on Venezuela’s bank accounts with Swiss-based HSBC. Those accounts were used to secretly deposit billions of dollars in public money, according to a 2015 report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. At one point, the account held $11.9 billion.

But despite his riches, court records show, he didn’t use his own money to pay for routine expenses associated with his stable of show horses. For instance, he wired Gorrin invoices for $14,000 in vet bills and $405,000 to a horse transportation company. Gorrin paid the bills through his personal Swiss bank account, records show.

News of Andrade’s legal woes were welcomed by Wellington resident Franklin Hoet-Linares, a Venezuelan lawyer who has been an outspoken critic of Andrade and others who have been linked to Chavez.

“Justice is slow but it arrives sooner or later,’’ Hoet-Linares said, adding that he hopes the fruits of Andrade’s ill-gotten gains are returned to the struggling nation.

 “Any of the money that is confiscated should go to Venezuela,” he said. “I hope the U.S. government doesn’t keep it. I know a lot of people want revenge, but I want to recover money for the reconstruction of the country. That is my first concern. Not revenge.’’

Forfeiting homes, cars

Already, federal prosecutors have moved forward to seize property so it can be sold.

Andrade, the father of Olympic equestrian Emanuel Andrade, has already been forced to forfeit 17 show horses, with names like Tinker Bell and Bonjovi, that he kept at his 6-acre spread on Sunnyland Lane. He also has been forced to forfeit the sprawling five-bedroom home with marble floors and a swimming pool a few miles from the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. It is valued at $4 million, according to county records.

The government also seized his 11 vehicles, including three Mercedes Benzes, a Porsche, a Cadillac Escalade and a Bentley. They have also grabbed his collection of more than 30 expensive watches.

The court documents do not detail how it all added up to $1 billion.

Likewise, the government has begun seizing nearly two dozen homes and condominiums Gorrin owns in Coral Gables, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura and New York City. A penthouse, overlooking the Hudson River in New York, is worth more than $7.5 million. Another, in Midtown, is worth $26 million, according to a real estate listing.

The cases against Andrade and others have been building for several years. An unrelated investigation, dubbed Operation Money Flight, has spawned dozens of arrests of former key Venezuelan officials.

Andrade was charged on Dec. 18, 2017, and pleaded guilty a day later, court records show. According to The Miami Herald, Andrade was working as a confidential informant, helping the FBI unravel the far-reaching scheme.

But, according to court records, a confidential informant led investigators to Andrade as well. The informant appears to have been Gorrin.

For instance, the informant “purchased items, including but not limited to, houses in Wellington, Florida; aircraft; and horses” for Andrade’s use, federal prosecutors wrote.

Further, they said, the informant controlled $70 million to $80 million in Swiss bank accounts that he used to pay Andrade’s expenses.

Hired Ballard Partners

Aside from bribing former national treasurers, Gorrin also used his wealth and position to try and curry political favors in the United States. Federal records showed he paid Ballard Partners, one of Florida’s top lobbying firms, $50,000 a month to push politicians to help him expand Globovision into the United States. It was hired in June 2017.

Justin Sayfie, a partner in the firm with offices in Tallahassee and Washington, said the firm dropped the contract with Globovision after The Herald reported Gorrin’s connection to the corruption scandal.

“We terminated based on concerns from a Miami Herald story in late July that reported Mr. Gorrin was a suspect in a criminal enterprise,” Sayfie said.

But while Sayfie and his partner, Brian Ballard, may have been unaware of the growing corruption scandal, Venezuelan nationals in Palm Beach County suspected Andrade played a role in the downfall of their country.

In March 2014, about 20 people protesting the conditions in Venezuela held a demonstration in front of the gated entrance to Andrade’s neighborhood.

The protesters held Venezuelan flags and large banners with messages including “Together for Venezuela” and “Stop the corruption and the murder.” Other signs held by the protesters read, “Andrade Thief Corrupt.”

Staff writer Joe Capozzi and Andrew Marra contributed to this story.

jmusgrave@pbpost.com