US authorities continue to look for those who help Venezuela circumvent sanctions.
The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Juan Carlos Cairo-Padrona, a Venezuelan national, and Thomas Michael Fortinbery, a U.S. permanent resident, for their involvement in illegal activities.
They have been accused of supplying equipment to Venezuelan state-owned steel mills and petrochemical companies which are subject to US sanctions.
The businessmen used Chinese suppliers to ship equipment directly from China to Venezuela and transferred millions of dollars between bank accounts in the United States, Spain and China.
Allegedly, from at least 2022 to the present, Cairo-Padrona and Fortinberry — sometimes acting through companies they owned or controlled, such as DRI Reformers and Reformer Technologies — sold millions of dollars worth of catalysts, industrial equipment and related services to the Venezuelan steel company Complejo Siderurgico de Guayana S.A. (COMSIGUA), which is owned by the Venezuelan government and is subject to U.S. sanctions.
If the businessmen are found guilty, the businessmen face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violating sanctions and money laundering, as well as 10 years in prison for smuggling.
