Transparency Venezuela has highlighted a concerning practice possibly being employed by individuals implicated in significant corruption cases linked to Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa): acquiring dismissals from Venezuelan courts to use as a defense argument in foreign judicial systems, claiming that the illicit origin of the investigated funds hasn’t been proven.
One case mentioned by the organization involves relatives and associates of Francisco Convit Guruceaga, a businessman linked to Derwick Associates and partner of Alejandro Betancourt López. On May 14, 2026, the Special Chamber of the Appeals Court in Caracas, responsible for cases involving terrorism, corruption, and organized crime, dismissed the case against Ana Graciela Convit Guruceaga, the businessman’s sister, due to “absolute objective atypicality.”
Excerpts from the ruling have been revealed by Zair Mundaray, former director of Procedural Action at the Public Ministry. While the full ruling has yet to be released, judicial sources consulted by Transparency Venezuela linked the case to the Pdvsa-Crypto scheme, an investigation into oil marketing operations in Venezuela whose proceeds reportedly did not enter state accounts.
Later, the defense moved to have the dismissal extended to Jacinto Antonio Convit Ríos, Patricia Gabriela Alejandra Ferrando Zilio, Gonzalo Andrés Eduardo Mendoza Guruceaga, and Marios Iliopoulos, a request that was reportedly accepted by the same judicial body. Iliopoulos, owner of the shipping company Seajets, has been accused by the Venezuelan Public Ministry of supposedly participating in crude oil marketing operations that Pdvsa allegedly never collected.
Transparency Venezuela points out several irregularities in these rulings. Notably, Ana Graciela Convit is said not to be in Venezuela, and the power of attorney submitted by her lawyer, Daniel Hernández Sarmiento, is claimed to have been granted in front of a public notary in Florida, USA. The organization reminds that Venezuelan jurisprudence prohibits proceeding with a criminal case when the defendant does not appear in court. This argument allegedly led Judge Heriberto Antonio Peña to save his vote.
The organization also questions that the decisions were made without calling the prosecutors from the Public Ministry to an oral and public hearing to present their arguments. Furthermore, the rulings do not appear on the Judicial Power’s website, despite the time elapsed since the initial decision.
Arrests Following Judicial Decisions
The consequences within the judicial system were reportedly immediate. According to judicial sources cited by Transparency Venezuela, the reporting judge Rafael Osío and magistrate Orlando Carvajal, who voted in favor of the rulings, were arrested. Also, Manuel Marrero, assistant to the president of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, Carmen Marisela Castro, was reportedly detained.
Lawyer Daniel Hernández Sarmiento, defender of the Convit family and former prosecutor at the Public Ministry, was also reportedly arrested. Transparency Venezuela notes that Hernández had previously been detained in late 2025 on suspicions of having made payments to officials from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) to facilitate Francisco Convit’s escape from El Helicoide. As of now, it is unknown whether the detained individuals have been presented before a court.
Meanwhile, Heriberto Antonio Peña has reportedly been removed from his position despite saving his vote. Peña was previously linked to the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (Sunacrip) during the tenure of Joselit Ramírez, who was arrested for the Pdvsa-Crypto case and is currently listed as a substitute in the Criminal Chamber of the TSJ.
The Precedent of Alejandro Betancourt in Spain
For Transparency Venezuela, the implications of these dismissals extend beyond Venezuelan courts. The organization recalls the case of Alejandro Betancourt López, Francisco Convit’s partner, who in March 2026 managed to have a Spanish court shelve an investigation into alleged money laundering after presenting a dismissal previously issued by a court in Caracas.
Atlantic Case: Express Dismissal (DOCUMENT)
The Spanish investigation sought to determine whether Betancourt and other Venezuelans were involved in money laundering operations with funds allegedly resulting from a 4.85 billion dollar embezzlement at Pdvsa. However, in June 2026, the Criminal Chamber of the National Audience ordered Judge Santiago Pedraz to reopen the investigation.
The Convit clan case once again places the use of Venezuelan court decisions under scrutiny in international files related to alleged corruption and money laundering. The concern raised by Transparency Venezuela is that the closure of cases in Venezuela could later become a tool to challenge the existence of the preceding crime and seek to halt ongoing investigations in other jurisdictions.