Venezuela Arrests Oil, Gas PDVSA Officials on Graft Probe
- Government detained Juan Santana and Erick Pérez on Saturday
- Billions in losses lead to crack down on energy bureaucracy
The Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela.
Photographer: Carlos Becerra/BloombergVenezuela’s government arrested two high-level energy officials on Sunday following the detention of a former oil minister amid an investigation into billions of lost Petroleos de Venezuela SA revenue.
Vice minister for oil Erick Pérez and vice minister for gas Juan Santana were arrested on Saturday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation but who requested anonymity because the information has not been made public. The arrests follow the detention of Maduro’s former oil minister Tareck El Aissami on Tuesday, a year after his resignation. El Aissami has been charged with treason and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme in which billions of dollars in oil proceeds disappeared.