Congressman Carlos Ramos is focusing on the Frank Williams F1 team, which is being sponsored by PDVSA, the state-owned Venezuelan oil company. Very few in Venezuela—except for a small group of chavistas—know the exact millions PDVSA has pledged and paid to the Williams F1 team. According to Venezuelan law, no public funds can be allocated to such projects without the Venezuelan Congress’s approval. Neither Hugo Chavez nor PDVSA has the authority to spend public funds without proper oversight. Thus, the contract between PDVSA and the Frank Williams F1 team may indeed be unlawful, as there’s no evidence that it has been discussed or endorsed by representatives in Venezuela’s Congress. It remains to be seen whether the Williams F1 team will respond to an official request for a copy of the contract amid an ongoing investigation by Venezuela’s Congress.
Local reports from Venezuela have indicated that since 2010, Frank Williams F1 team could have received between £110.5 million and £154.7 million from PDVSA, depending on the visibility of PDVSA/Venezuelan logos on the Williams F1 car and drivers’ uniforms.
Tomorrow, I will be sending a recorded delivery of this letter to Claire Williams.
UPDATE: Congressman Carlos Ramos’s letter was received at the Williams F1 office in Grove on 18 November at 08:47, per Royal Mail records.
UPDATE II: Claire Williams has responded to Congressman Ramos’s inquiry, dated 18 November 2011 at 16:15:24 GMT. We are currently drafting a reply, which will be posted here shortly.
Venezuela: Congressman Carlos Ramos questions Williams F1 – PDVSA contract
(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(«script»); scribd.type = «text/javascript»; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = «http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js»; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(«script»)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();