BeaverFever Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 (edited) “Trump officials awarded Venezuela oil-sale contracts to firms tied to bribery” “Two trading houses with a history of bribery and corruption won $500 million deals, court records show.” “Two global trading houses that brokered an opaque deal with the Trump administration this month to sell Venezuelan oil were previously prosecuted for bribery schemes involving oil sales elsewhere, court records show, underscoring concerns by anti-corruption experts and lawmakers that the arrangement is vulnerable to abuse.” “The administration granted confidential licenses to Vitol and Trafigura in early January to sell Venezuelan oil with little independent oversight. The licenses come a year after the Trump administration gutted the foreign corrupt practices unit of the Justice Department, which brought charges against the two companies and their traders in 2020 and 2024.” “According to public records, a senior trader at Vitol donated $6 million to political committees supporting Trump’s 2024 election. Vitol has stressed the donations were made by the individual and not the company.” The bribery schemes were colorful and elaborate, according to court records. They involved code words such as “shoes” and “coffee,” shell entities, and fake contracts and invoices with Mexican and Ecuadorian state oil companies in the case of a Vitol trader who was convicted of bribery in 2024, four years after the company paid $135 million in criminal penalties to resolve accusations it bribed officials in Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil. That was not its only run-in with prosecutors. The other company, Trafigura, had plotted with Brazilian oil company officials to route funds through shell companies and offshore accounts to conceal a bribery scheme that helped net it $61 million in profits, according to a 2024 federal plea agreement in which the company admitted guilt and agreed to fines and forfeitures totaling $126 million. It’s one of several past allegations against the company, including a corruption conviction last year in Switzerland on charges of having bribed an Angolan official for oil contracts. The company is appealing.” “Trump is taking advantage of firms that know how to circumvent regulation,” said Robert Bachmann, an analyst at Public Eye, a Swiss nongovernmental organization that investigates commodities traders. “They were previously hunted down by the U.S. Department of Justice,” but that “does not seem to matter” to the current administration.” …. Excerpt From “Trump officials awarded Venezuela oil-sale contracts to firms tied to bribery” Anthony Faiola, Evan Halper The Washington Post https://apple.news/AnCWEUUjUSwWENtcKpkkMaw This material may be protected by copyright. Edited January 30 by BeaverFever 1 Quote
Hodad Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 1 hour ago, BeaverFever said: “Trump officials awarded Venezuela oil-sale contracts to firms tied to bribery” “Two trading houses with a history of bribery and corruption won $500 million deals, court records show.” “Two global trading houses that brokered an opaque deal with the Trump administration this month to sell Venezuelan oil were previously prosecuted for bribery schemes involving oil sales elsewhere, court records show, underscoring concerns by anti-corruption experts and lawmakers that the arrangement is vulnerable to abuse.” “The administration granted confidential licenses to Vitol and Trafigura in early January to sell Venezuelan oil with little independent oversight. The licenses come a year after the Trump administration gutted the foreign corrupt practices unit of the Justice Department, which brought charges against the two companies and their traders in 2020 and 2024.” “According to public records, a senior trader at Vitol donated $6 million to political committees supporting Trump’s 2024 election. Vitol has stressed the donations were made by the individual and not the company.” The bribery schemes were colorful and elaborate, according to court records. They involved code words such as “shoes” and “coffee,” shell entities, and fake contracts and invoices with Mexican and Ecuadorian state oil companies in the case of a Vitol trader who was convicted of bribery in 2024, four years after the company paid $135 million in criminal penalties to resolve accusations it bribed officials in Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil. That was not its only run-in with prosecutors. The other company, Trafigura, had plotted with Brazilian oil company officials to route funds through shell companies and offshore accounts to conceal a bribery scheme that helped net it $61 million in profits, according to a 2024 federal plea agreement in which the company admitted guilt and agreed to fines and forfeitures totaling $126 million. It’s one of several past allegations against the company, including a corruption conviction last year in Switzerland on charges of having bribed an Angolan official for oil contracts. The company is appealing.” “Trump is taking advantage of firms that know how to circumvent regulation,” said Robert Bachmann, an analyst at Public Eye, a Swiss nongovernmental organization that investigates commodities traders. “They were previously hunted down by the U.S. Department of Justice,” but that “does not seem to matter” to the current administration.” …. Excerpt From “Trump officials awarded Venezuela oil-sale contracts to firms tied to bribery” Anthony Faiola, Evan Halper The Washington Post https://apple.news/AnCWEUUjUSwWENtcKpkkMaw This material may be protected by copyright. Ugh. Just like the J6 pardons, Trump is happy to have criminals in his pocket, and him in theirs. What a crook. 1 Quote
Nationalist Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 OMG! Oil companies engaged in bribery! Good grief... Quote Its so lonely in m'saddle since m'horse died.
gatomontes99 Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 47 minutes ago, Nationalist said: OMG! Oil companies engaged in bribery! Good grief... Not in Venezuela! 1 Quote Don't you think that if I were wrong that I would know it?
BeaverFever Posted January 30 Author Report Posted January 30 Love how neither of you care about Trump’s corruption. That’s “pwning the libs”! Quote
User Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 13 minutes ago, BeaverFever said: Love how neither of you care about Trump’s corruption. That’s “pwning the libs”! When you can explain how this is "Trump's corruption," let us know. Quote
BeaverFever Posted January 30 Author Report Posted January 30 10 hours ago, User said: When you can explain how this is "Trump's corruption," let us know. No bid contract to political donors with criminal history with zero external oversight or accountability or frankly any legal authority. 1 1 Quote
User Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 30 minutes ago, BeaverFever said: No bid contract to political donors with criminal history with zero external oversight or accountability or frankly any legal authority. So... were you going to explain the corruption? These are criticisms of the process. Where is the corruption here? 1 Quote
robosmith Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 14 hours ago, Nationalist said: OMG! Oil companies engaged in bribery! Good grief... OMG! gnat girl TRYING to minimize Trump governmental CORRUPTION AGAIN. Thanks for demonstrating once again how you have no respect for the LAW. I suspect one day soon you will be charged with tax evasion because of your minimizing legal transgressions. Quote
Nationalist Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 23 minutes ago, robosmith said: OMG! gnat girl TRYING to minimize Trump governmental CORRUPTION AGAIN. Thanks for demonstrating once again how you have no respect for the LAW. I suspect one day soon you will be charged with tax evasion because of your minimizing legal transgressions. Lol...Dweebles...im retired now. Selling properties to take wifey-baby on a world tour. I paid my dues already. And I got a Greek accountant. Great guy. Very knowledgeable. Quote Its so lonely in m'saddle since m'horse died.
robosmith Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Nationalist said: Lol...Dweebles...im retired now. Selling properties to take wifey-baby on a world tour. I paid my dues already. And I got a Greek accountant. Great guy. Very knowledgeable. You're still filing tax returns. At least you would be if you're in the US collecting SS. Quote
WestCanMan Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 18 hours ago, BeaverFever said: “Trump officials awarded Venezuela oil-sale contracts to firms tied to bribery” “Two trading houses with a history of bribery and corruption won $500 million deals, court records show.” It was a socialist country. Why don't you try to find a list of companies in Venezuela that survived the transition under Maduro and didn't get involved in that sort of activity... Who found them guilty? Maduro's kangaroo courts? If so then that's more of a testament to their legitimacy the FBI committed felonies, including perjury and falsifying evidence, during the Russian collusion witch hunt, yet you have no problem with that. FYI the fact that America's federal police force is a racketeering operation is a much bigger deal than "who's handling Venezuela's oil". You also have no problems with our gov't creating laws and illegally forcing our ex-AG to wrongfully apply that law to keep SNC Lavalin in business. SNC Lavalin has a court-documented history of committing crimes against Canadians, and because of the LPOC's malfeasance, SNC is allowed to get gov't contracts in Canada. Your hypocrisy is next-lvl, you greasy little grift-lover. How do I just know that the more I look into this, the more legitimate and reasonable this starts to look? 😉 The evidence is probably in your own article again ffs, illiterate fool. Quote If the Cultist Narrative Network/Cultist Broadcasting Corporation gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, leftists would believe everything they typed. "I don't hate American's, I pointed out the literacy rate to Uncle Sam." - LinkSoul "It's just a parable about rocks and trees talking to muslims to help them kill Jews who are trying to hide. It's open to interpretation." - robobigot
robosmith Posted January 30 Report Posted January 30 1 hour ago, WestCanMan said: the FBI committed felonies, including perjury and falsifying evidence, during the Russian collusion witch hunt One felony, 12 month suspended sentence for editing an email doesn't change all the other evidence of collusion. And your denial won't change it, either. Quote
gatomontes99 Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 20 hours ago, robosmith said: You're still filing tax returns. At least you would be if you're in the US collecting SS. Lol...you should get an accountant. If you do it right, ss is tax free. Ask about the back door. They'll know. Quote Don't you think that if I were wrong that I would know it?
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