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The U.S. Government seized over 20 million dollars linked to a bribery scheme involving the late Venezuelan businessman of Syrian descent, Naman Wakil, as reported by the Department of Justice.
The seized funds are the outcome of a civil lawsuit filed in August 2023 by the Department of Justice, which argued that “the funds were a result of international bribery and money laundering offenses” that took place between 2008 and 2014, according to a statement released today.
During this period, Wakil, who controlled several companies selling food products, paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to various presidents of the Agricultural Supply and Services Corporation (CASA) to secure contracts with this Venezuelan state food agency.
“As a result of these bribes, Wakil, through his companies, obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in profits in accounts he controlled in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland,” explained the Department of Justice, which added that Wakil laundered these proceeds in South Florida, among other locations.
The Venezuelan businessman died in July 2023 at his home in Miami, South Florida (U.S.), where he was out on bail while awaiting trial related to this case.
His lawyer, Howard Srebnick, reported at the time that Wakil had died “of natural causes while sleeping.”
Facing corruption charges in Venezuela and money laundering in the U.S., the Venezuelan businessman had pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
According to local media, among his real estate assets were the family condominium in the Residences at Vizcaya, situated in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, along with other apartments on Brickell Avenue, the financial district of the city, and in the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach.