FBI Investigating Top Executives of WAPA Contractor VITOL for Corruption and Money Laundering
Top executives of VITOL, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s (W.A.P.A.) propane conversion contractor, have been under investigation by the FBI since 2014. According to Reuters, “Miguel “Mike” Loya, Vitol’s U.S. head, and Antonio Maarraoui, the company’s head for Latin American and the Caribbean, are under investigation by the U.S. law enforcement agency, the sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.” The investigation, “Operation Carwash,” has been dubbed one of Brazil’s biggest corruption scandals.
The FBI is investigating Mr. Loyola and Mr. Maarraoui in connection with the Brazil bribery case involving Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras).
Reuters said that the FBI’s targeting of Vitol executives was the second recent sign that U.S. authorities are stepping up their involvement in the trading fraud case, the latest twist in Brazil’s sweeping “Car Wash” corruption probe. This increases the dangers for Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, and other major trading firms like Trafigura and Glencore, also ensnared in the case.
In response to the investigation, Vitol expressed an intolerance for bribery and corruption. Trafigura and Glencore have declined to comment. All of the companies: Vitol, Trafigura, and Glencore – have been suspended from business dealings with Petrobras since Brazilian prosecutors accused them in December of paying more than $30 million in bribes to its employees, Reuters stated.
Read more: https://viconsortium.com/news-2/fbi-investigating-top-executives-of-wapa-contractor-vitol-for-corruption-and-money-laundering/