Corruption Case Ties Duro Felguera to Venezuelan Energy Project

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has proposed prosecuting the former leaders of the Asturias-based engineering firm Duro Felguera, including its former chairman and former chief executive, along with several former Venezuelan presidents, for allegedly arranging kickbacks and bribes. In a formal letter, the Public Ministry requests the president of Central Court of Order No. 2 to consider charges against 12 persons and 4 legal entities for corruption and money laundering offenses. The list includes the company’s former chairman, Juan Carlos Torres Inclan, and the former CEO, Angel Antonio Del Valle, as well as government figures from Venezuela, such as former Deputy Ministers Javier Ochoa Alvarado and Nervis Villalobos, and their spouses, Maria Consuelo Pardi and Milagros Coromoto. The prosecution places the events in 2009, during a pronounced energy crisis in Venezuela that included energy restrictions and rationing. As a response to the emergency, the Venezuelan administration reportedly decided to build the Planta El Sitio thermoelectric power plant, a decision prosecutors say was intertwined with private sector involvement. The case contends that Raphael Ramirez, the Minister of Electricity and Energy at the time, facilitated the appointment of Duro Felguera as the main contractor, while the firm allegedly pledged to channel funds to Venezuelan officials who influenced the project. Del Valle and Torres Inclan, serving as directors of Duro Felguera, are accused of arranging payments that benefited the decision-makers. The anti-corruption case outlines that the Spanish company partnered with UTE Termocentro for the plant’s construction, with Precision Machinery Assemblies shown as a key but ultimately dependent collaborator. According to prosecutors, UTE Termocentro signed contracts with Venezuelan institutions and individuals with the aim of masking kickbacks or bribes to public officials in order to safeguard the company’s interests. The documents allege that Torres Inclan and Del Valle Suárez, in their roles as Duro Felguera directors, agreed to deliver substantial funds, totaling up to $105.6 million (approximately 94.3 million euros at current exchange rates) to Nervis Villalobos through intermediary companies that leveraged political influence to advance the firm’s aims. The payments were disbursed in three installments: $53,950,000, $25,000,000, and $26,677,600. The first two transfers were processed via the Terca company, while the last was routed through Ingespre. Two Duro Felguera executives allegedly paid to secure the tender for the Termocentro plant and to gain favorable treatment from high-level officials, including Luis Carlos de Leon Perez, Julia Van Der Brule, and Javier Ochoa Alvarado, among others connected to Nervis Villalobos. Prosecutors argue that those in publicly traded firms linked to the Termocentro project acted to safeguard the Spanish firm’s interests, particularly through Caracas Electricity and the Ministry of Public Energy for Electricity, with Javier Alvarado Ochoa serving as Deputy Minister. The letter also notes that following the emergence of bribery allegations, implicated individuals continued making purchases, including multiple residences in Spain, highlighting ongoing procedural concerns. Ultimately, the file lists seven individuals under investigation, several connected to Duro Felguera or the former general manager of UTE Termocentro. It is important to recognize that the case considered by the National Court involves allegations of international corruption and money laundering connected to an investigation that began in 2015, based on a report from the Anti-Money Laundering Service (Sepblac) that detected possible crimes related to payments in an account at the now-defunct Banco Madrid. This lighting of facts underscores how financial maneuvers can appear to cross borders in pursuit of private gains at the expense of public energy policy and governance.