FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
#UNFONDOPORVENEZUELA #AFUNDFORVENEZUELA
If a Fund for Venezuela (Fondo Por Venezuela) is created, who would manage the assets in it?
The custody and management of the money and assets seized in corruption cases involving Venezuelan officials would be handled by the U.S. government through its Departments of Treasury, Justice and State. No third party would have access to this money unless the mentioned Departments authorize it.
No member of INRAV, nor INRAV as an organization, will have access in any way to these funds looted by corrupt Venezuelan officials.
How much money has been stolen from Venezuela?
Right now we can only estimate the cost of the corruption in Venezuela between 1999 and 2020 using the Corruptómetro, an interactive tool of confirmed data of the dimension of this grand theft. The Corruptómetro was developed by Transparencia Venezuela, the platform Connectas and the Alianza Rebelde Investiga (ARI). The newspapers runrun.es, elpitazo.net and talcualdigital.com created ARI.
The data verified and collated by www.corruptometro.org come from lawsuits and other investigations initiated by Venezuela’s own Justice Department, Treasury Department, National Assembly and Supreme Court. This website tool also includes information from research and investigations by journalists that cover areas not looked at by government authorities.
The Corruptómetro identifies a total of 236 cases of corruption in Venezuela of which only the quantity of public funds taken in 114 cases is known:
$52,098,420,753.00.
This amount - over $52 Billion - is the equivalent of eight times the international reserves of Venezuela (BCV, January, 2020) or over two years of oil export revenue ($45,810,000,000.00 corresponding to 2018 and 2019).
How do we guarantee that these stolen assets return to Venezuela?
The return of these looted assets may take a long time. No country has to return any money recovered via prosecutions of corrupt foreign government officials to the victimized country. The U.S. Congress and the White House, however, did take a historic step by approving the VERDAD Act in December, 2019, in which policy towards Venezuela was outlined — including a commitment to returning any recovered assets stolen from the Venezuelan people to a future democratic government there.
While this is a step forward, nothing is guaranteed. To make sure that the recovered assets do return to Venezuela, we must as citizens ask our Representatives and Senators to support the establishment of A Fund For Venezuela (Un Fondo Por Venezuela) in order to safeguard these monies from being used for other purposes.
If Un Fondo Por Venezuela is not approved, what would happen to these Venezuelan assets?
U.S. law contemplates the depositing of funds that are proceeds from corruption - from any case or any country of origin - into one of two generic funds: one administered by the Department of Justice and the other by the Department of Treasury. Usually these funds are used to cover administrative costs or to provide more budget to law enforcement to expand more similar investigations.
Depending on the circumstances, the recovered funds may be returned in the following ways:
1. Internacional Sharing:
• This method attempts to return a portion of the recovered assets to the country of origin in recognition of the assistance that that country lent during the asset recovery process. This option requires the joint approval of the Departments of Justice, Treasury, and State.
2. Remission
• This method was designed to compensate the looted country by the amount lost. Under remission the affected country must petition to the Department of Justice, which administers this process. The petitioner has to present evidence that proves that their request is legitimate. If the DOJ considers it appropriate, the DOJ will proceed to return the funds with appropriate guarantees so that the funds are used in a transparent way.
3. Restitution to a Victimized Country
• In criminal cases, the DOJ may return the money to the country or entity the government defines as the Victimized party. There is one important exception: a case of corruption (a public official demands the payment of a commission, for example) does not necessarily qualify as theft of assets directly from the people of Venezuela.
These methods are complex and costly, and require that each case be decided on its merits. As such, it makes the task of asset recovery onerous, especially for a country like Venezuela that lacks resources.
How many cases of corruption involving Venezuelan officials are being processed in the U.S.?
According to a report published by the Inter-American Dialogue, through September, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice has indicted more than 20 Venezuelan public officials, PDVSA (the Venezuelan state oil company) employees, and public contractors for corruption. The majority of these cases are being prosecuted in the federal courts in the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of Florida.
How much money has been seized in the U.S. at present?
So far approximately $ 1.5 Billion of assets recovered in the U.S. have been identified in court documents as funds that are proceeds from corruption in Venezuela.
The exact amount of money actually recovered by the Department of Justice in these cases has not been confirmed by U.S. officials. However, press briefings that quote federal authorities indicate that the Department of Justice has already successfully confiscated or recovered at least $450 Million. (Jay Weaver and Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, April 27, 2020.
To the extent the Department of Justice continues enforcement of court-ordered forfeiture of these stolen assets, the amount of money recovered and available for repatriation should increase.
How should this Fund be managed?
We believe this Fund must be configured in such a way as to follow the Principles and Best Practices as those recently discussed in “Guidelines in a Human Rights Approach to Asset Recovery (Directrices sobre un marco de derechos humanos para la recuperación de activos)” 1, specifically those related to the duty of States to return assets in a responsible and transparent way with citizen participation to make sure the funds contribute to the prevention and fight against corruption while also promoting human rights.
On the other hand, there are the Principles of the “Global Forum of Asset Recovery” 2 for the ̈disposition and transfer of stolen Assets, confiscated in cases of corruption”. Two of these principles stand out. “Early (and Continued) Dialog” between countries, at all stages of the recovery process, and Transparency and Accountability during the return and disposition of the funds.
Why is it important to create a fund?
Asset Recovery, even in a country with such a grim reality as Venezuela’s, faces huge challenges and obstacles3. The Venezuelan context compels us to attempt to make sure to safeguard the funds and other assets that other countries have been able to confiscate by prosecuting the acts of corruption and theft committed against the people of Venezuela.
Is there any basis in Venezuelan law for the creation of a Fund for Venezuela (un Fondo por Venezuela)?
Yes. In January, 2019, the National Assembly established the “Acuerdo de Creación del Fondo de Recuperación de Activos Producto de la Corrupción” 7 (“The Creation of the Stolen Asset -via corruption- Recovery Fund Agreement”) where “stolen assets (due to Venezuelan corruption) and recovered will be safeguarded so that they can later be returned to national territory in order to finance public policy that helps respond to high priority issues caused by the severe humanitarian crisis in Venezuela”.
This Agreement also establishes the creation of a public registry “where the assets stolen due to Venezuelan corruption, and recovered and protected by other countries”, are confirmed. ̈
According to a report published by the Inter-American Dialogue, through September, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice has indicted more than 20 Venezuelan public officials, PDVSA (the Venezuelan state oil company) employees, and public contractors for corruption. The majority of these cases are being prosecuted in the federal courts in the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of Florida.
[3] On this issue, recently the Intergovernmental Taskforce for Transparency and Accountability on Asset Recovery published a Review of International Asset Recovery Efforts: Challenges and Obstacules. It is available at: https://bit.ly/2YxZkGX
[4] The Law has 8 subtitles: a) Support for Venezuela’s Interim President and recognition of the Venezuelan National Assembly, b) Humanitarian aid for Venezuela, c) Addressing the regime’s cohesion, d) Restoring democracy and addressing Venezuela’s political crisis, e) Support for Venezuela’s reconstruction, f) Restoring Rule of Law in Venezuela, g) Cryptocurrencies and guaranteeing the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions, h) Other issues.
[5] VERDAD Act, Subtitle E, Section 151, Number 1, Subsection c. Available at: https://bit.ly/2DeC09X
[6] To date we have no knowledge of any publication of the referred-to strategy, and received no response for such information after writing the President of the United States, his Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury.