For years, Alessandro Bazzoni operated behind the scenes of one of the most complex and opaque financial networks tied to Venezuelan oil. Born on July 9, 1971, in Milan and now based in London, this Italian entrepreneur played a central role in bypassing international sanctions through an intricate web of oil trading, offshore entities, sports investments, and financial intermediaries with access to global banking.
Between 2021 and 2025, Bazzoni was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for his alleged involvement in Venezuela’s sanctioned oil trade. Identified as a key player in the network of Tareck El Aissami — the powerful former minister of oil and vice president under Nicolás Maduro — Bazzoni emerged as a quiet but effective replacement for Alex Saab following Saab’s 2020 arrest in Cape Verde. He moved oil across borders using front companies and shadow intermediaries in Turkey, Iran, and Asia.
It wasn’t until January 2025, in the final days of Joe Biden’s administration, that Bazzoni’s sanctions were lifted. While seen as a goodwill gesture amid shifting energy politics, the move drew criticism from officials investigating the multi-billion-dollar corruption scheme linked to Venezuela’s oil sector.
Deep Ties in Mexico’s Energy Underground
Bazzoni’s operations intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relocating temporarily to Mexico with his wife — Norwegian national Siri Evjemo-Nysveen — he forged close alliances with sanctioned Mexican operator Joaquín Leal Jiménez and former energy regulator José Luis Chávez Calva. Together, they built a multinational supply chain to sell Venezuelan crude oil using forged shipping documents, front companies, and corrupt PDVSA executives like Colonel José Antonio Pérez Suárez (now jailed in Venezuela) and Minister Wilmar Castro Soteldo.
Chávez Calva’s technical and regulatory expertise helped smooth over regulatory scrutiny. His participation was critical in structuring trade routes with buyers in Asia and the Middle East, facilitating covert transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
A Banker Wife With Swiss Connections
While Bazzoni moved oil, his wife moved money. In 2020, Siri Evjemo-Nysveen was appointed to the board of Switzerland’s MBaer Merchant Bank — a discreet private bank managed by the great-grandson of Julius Baer’s founder. From her seat, Siri allegedly helped open accounts for Venezuelan officials and intermediaries, using Baer Capital Partners in Dubai to channel illicit profits from crude sales into Switzerland’s financial system.
Their primary offshore vehicle was Norge Oil Limited, registered in the Isle of Man. The company received and redirected oil-related payments, mostly from Asian buyers funneled through intermediaries in the UAE. In 2023, just after El Aissami’s network began to unravel, Siri was quietly removed from the bank’s board.
From Oil to Goals: A Secret Takeover of SPAL
Bazzoni’s business interests go beyond oil and banking. In Italy, he and his brother Lorenzo quietly funded the acquisition of SPAL, a historic football club based in Ferrara. The operation was led publicly by Joe Tacopina — an American lawyer known for representing Donald Trump — but Tacopina later confirmed that a “top-secret Italian family” provided the capital. Lorenzo Bazzoni, acting as their representative, assumed a leadership role in the club.
The deal raised red flags among financial regulators in Italy and the U.S., especially given football’s long history as a vehicle for laundering money. Investments into SPAL reportedly exceeded €25 million and are now under federal scrutiny.
A Taste for Polo and Private Jets
Polo is another passion — and potential laundering front — for the Bazzoni-Evjemo family. Competing under the names Monterosso Polo Team and MT Vikings, they’ve appeared in high-profile tournaments in the UK, Argentina, the U.S., and Italy. Polo, a sport closely tied to global elites, has been used by numerous politically exposed persons (PEPs) to integrate illicit funds into elite social circuits.
British authorities are currently investigating the couple for the purchase of dozens of polo horses allegedly funded by proceeds from Venezuela’s oil corruption. Their lifestyle — luxury homes in London, Italian villas, private jets, and helicopters — reflects a level of wealth incompatible with any legitimate earnings declared by Bazzoni or his companies.
The Power Struggles Within
Despite having once operated within the same orbit, Bazzoni and Alex Saab became rivals in the illicit oil trade. Saab controlled food supply contracts (including the controversial CLAP program) and trade deals with Iran, while Bazzoni targeted more technical and discreet sectors of oil logistics. The competition over routes and influence led to major fractures within the pro-Maduro business network.
Another adversary was Jorge Andrés Giménez Ochoa, head of the Venezuelan Football Federation and a rising power player close to Tareck El Aissami. Giménez attempted to control shipping lanes via Turkey, a strategy that clashed directly with Bazzoni’s independent infrastructure supported by European investors.
Investigations Multiply
At least two U.S. federal districts — Southern District of Florida and Southern District of Texas — are actively investigating Bazzoni’s role in PDVSA corruption. Venezuelan prosecutors have also issued an arrest warrant against him, citing crimes related to trafficking of strategic materials, illegal commerce, and money laundering.
Together with his wife, Bazzoni is suspected of helping loot over $800 million in public funds — not just in oil exports, but in food imports, transport logistics, and financial transactions. Investigators believe the couple’s structure played a critical role in both draining Venezuela’s economy and laundering its spoils through European and Middle Eastern channels.