Top Venezuela oil official pleads guilty to taking bribes

MIAMI — The former general counsel for Venezuela’s state-owned oil company pleaded guilty in Miami federal court on money laundering charges Wednesday in connection to a conspiracy to siphon at least $550 million from state coffers through corrupt currency deals. “I came here to own up to my mistakes and to take responsibility before the U.S. courts.” Nass, 43, in February became the latest among several dozen former Venezuelan officials to be charged or convicted in the U.S. as part of Operation Money Flight, a sprawling, multi-year investigation that seeks to untangle how Venezuelan insiders stole billions in oil wealth from their country. As part of his plea deal, Nass admitted to taking bribes in exchange for greenlighting a bogus currency transaction in 2014 by which several businessmen agreed to loan PDVSA 7.2 billion bolivars, or $50 million at the widely used black market exchange rate in Venezuela. The oil company then settled the debt for the Euro equivalent of $600 million a few months later at an artificially high official exchange rate, allowing the insiders to turn a huge profit of $550 million, according to a six-page factual proffer accompanying Nass’ plea agreement.