The Chavista corruption is deeply ingrained in the Venezuelan regime, highlighted by a confidential report directed to Nicolás Maduro Moros. This document, authored by PSUV deputies who call themselves “guardians of the revolution,” reveals an extensive network for corruption and money laundering—capital legitimization—operating within the Banco del Tesoro. This scheme is identified as the “Grupo Jinetes del Tesoro,” allegedly led by Francesco Lovaglio Tafuri and Deivyd José Gómez García.
According to the report, these individuals control nearly half of the country’s digital transactions via points of sale. They are accused of establishing multiple businesses with familial ties among their partners and of co-opting high-ranking officials of the Banco del Tesoro and other banking entities to monopolize means of payment.
The report names the alleged leaders of the Chavista corruption network, as well as the bank officials supposedly involved in such corrupt activities. Additionally, it contains numerous commercial and fiscal records of the nine companies tied to this scheme. The accusations focus on the alleged use of insider information and the recruitment of the Banco del Tesoro’s president, Eneida Laya, to secure exclusive contracts for the group.
The “Jinetes del Tesoro”
The report received by Venezuela Política details the structure and operations of an alleged Chavista corruption and capital legitimization network known as “Jinetes del Tesoro.” This network has been operating since 2018 under the leadership of Francesco Lovaglio Tafuri and Deivyd José Gómez García, who supposedly infiltrated both public and private banking to monopolize digital payment means. It is estimated that they control approximately 48% of the nation’s digital transactions.
The report explains that the network operates through a web of at least nine interconnected companies with familial and business ties, mainly dominated by Lovaglio Tafuri. Their modus operandi involves recruiting high-ranking banking officials—including the president of the Banco del Tesoro, Eneida Laya—to secure exclusive contracts and gain access to strategic information. Former high-level officials of the said banking institution are also part of the structure.
An analysis of commercial and fiscal records reveals a pattern of collusion, with multiple companies sharing fiscal addresses, lawyers, commissioners, and family-linked shareholders. The Superintendency of the Institutions of the Banking Sector of Venezuela (SUDEBAN) is accused of a “complacent oversight” for swiftly granting permits to these companies despite evident irregularities. The financial structure of the group exceeds USD 400 million in assets and services, consolidating significant control over Venezuela’s payment system.
Modus operandi of the Jinetes del Tesoro
The “Jinetes del Tesoro” group implemented a multifaceted strategy to penetrate and dominate the financial system:
Recruitment of Key Officials:
Members of the network approached and “seduced” presidents and directors of both public and private banks. Their first success came in 2018 with the president of the Banco del Tesoro. They later extended their influence to directors of Banco Bicentenario, Banco de Venezuela, Banco Plaza, Banco Mercantil, Banplus, and Banfanb.
Utilization of Former Banking Employees:
The network recruited highly skilled personnel from public banking, offering them substantial sums of money. These former officials held strategic and confidential information, making it easier to infiltrate the system from within.
Creation of a Business Web:
A network of nine companies was formed, many established consecutively and linked through familial connections, to dominate the distribution and management of points of sale.
Strategic Migration of Clients:
When one of their main companies, Corporación Total Pago Plus C.A., was intervened by SUDEBAN, the points of sale portfolio from Banco del Tesoro and Banco Bicentenario was immediately transferred to another firm of the same conglomerate—Representaciones Best Pay C.A.—ensuring business continuity and the receipt of commissions.
Key Actors and Accomplices
The report outlines the network’s leadership as follows:
Francesco Lovaglio Tafuri: identified as the organization’s head. He is responsible for overseeing financial operations and acts as a liaison with international banking for the legitimization of dollars. He is a shareholder, directly or indirectly, in all the companies.
Deivyd José Gómez García: the main operator responsible for recruiting banking officials. He is a partner in key companies such as Inversiones Master 2021 C.A. and Corporación Total Pago Plus C.A.
Similarly, mentioned are the bank officials allegedly co-opted by the Jinetes del Tesoro:
Eneida Laya (president of Banco del Tesoro): noted as a central figure in the scheme. She is said to have been recruited by Deivyd Gómez García, allegedly providing him with exclusive contracts for handling digital transactions. The report accuses her of maintaining a close and ongoing relationship with the family group controlling the companies. Gómez García reportedly managed her personal expenses, trips—on the CITATION YV3343 plane—and those of her children, who also occupy managerial positions in the network’s companies.
Lorena Romero (former general director of financial operations at Banco del Tesoro): after leaving her trusted position at the bank, she became a director at Inversiones Master 2021 C.A. and an administrator at Distribuidora Global de Insumos XXI C.A., both part of the network. She acts as an operational link with the president of Banco del Tesoro.
Leonardo J. Rodríguez B. (former general director of operational support at Banco del Tesoro): like Romero, he managed strategic information at the bank and was recruited by the group’s companies, ensuring system penetration.
Romer Robles (acting vice president of complementary channels at Banco Bicentenario): recruited alongside the bank’s president, Miguel Pérez Abad, to expand the network’s operations within that entity.
Business Web of the “Jinetes del Tesoro”
Chavista corruption is evident in this network operating through around nine registered companies in Venezuela. Their fiscal records reveal that several share addresses, shareholders, and were established around the same time, indicating a coordinated structure.
Nombre ComercialRIFFecha de constituciónDirección fiscalSocios claveInversiones Master 2021 C.A.J-41220060-730-11-2015Torre Oriental de Seguros, piso 3, Chacao, MirandaFrancesco Lovaglio Tafuri, Deivyd José Gómez García, Juan Carlos Fernández SierraRepresentaciones Best Pay C.A.J-50044157-608-10-2020Torre Oriental de Seguros, piso 5, Chacao, MirandaFrancesco Lovaglio Tafuri, Omar José Nemer IrchedDistribuidora Global de Insumos XXI C.AJ-41243890-514-02-2015Torre Oriental de Seguros, PB y PH, Chacao, MirandaFrancesco Lovaglio Tafuri, Juan Carlos Fernández SierraInversiones AC 2019 C.A.J-50048559-022-10-2020Torre Oriental de Seguros, piso PB, Chacao, MirandaEver Gustavo Marín Cedeño, Franklin Adolfo Castillo RiveroInversiones 7370 C.A.J-50045692-109-10-2020Torre Oriental de Seguros, piso PB, Chacao, MirandaGiuseppina Paola Lovaglio Tafuri, Mariano Tafuri PetrazuoloSoluciones RL 20 C.A.J-50014900-014-02-2020Calle Orinoco, edif. Santa Ana, Las Mercedes, MirandaRomina Iade Brunozzi, Laura Josefina Negron ÁlvarezTecnocobro C.A.J-50019377-704-03-2020CCCT, Torre B, piso 7, Chuao, MirandaAlexis Pereira Vásquez, Claudio Pietro Iade DonelliInversiones Subet C.A.J-41031882-129-08-2017Parque Valencia, sector 27, CaraboboFrancesco Lovaglio Tafuri, Susana A Nuñez BCorporación Total Pago Plus C.A.J-41125754-012-04-2018Torre Kyra, oficinas 91-96, Av. Fco. de MirandaDeivyd José Gómez García, Carlos Eduardo Rodríguez Medina
Family Node and Corporate Ties
The analysis of the constitutive and fiscal documents of the companies reveals evidence of crimes related to conspiracy and corruption.
Coordination in Creation:
Companies Representaciones Best Pay C.A., Tecnocobro C.A., and Soluciones RL 20 C.A. were established in 2020, approved by the same lawyer, share the same commissioner, and are domiciled at the same physical and fiscal address.
Fraudulent Monopoly:
The creation of this scheme, led by Lovaglio Tafuri, aimed to monopolize the payment methods market with the complicity of public officials who granted them most sales portfolios for POS in public banking, including Banco del Tesoro, Banco de Venezuela, BANFANB, and Banco Bicentenario.
Replacement of Companies:
The initial company, Total Pago Plus C.A., disappeared from the market and SUDEBAN records, only to be immediately replaced by Inversiones Master 2021 C.A., established by the same operators, Deivyd Gómez García and Francesco Lovaglio Tafuri.
Complicity of SUDEBAN:
The Superintendency of the Institutions of the Banking Sector of Venezuela (SUDEBAN) is noted to be aware of these irregularities but continues to issue permits quickly and without delay to all companies within the network, indicating a “complacent oversight.”