U.S. Arrests Turkish Man In Miami For Violating Venezuelan Oil Sanctions

Tanker — Image for representation purposes only

A Turkish man accused of attempting to violate U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil was arrested in Miami as he prepared to leave for Turkey, according to the Department of Justice.

Taskin Torlak, aged 37, was taken into custody on November 2 and faces charges of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Authorities say Torlak coordinated a complex plot to sell oil from Venezuela and Iran, hiding the shipments to mislead officials.

Per the Justice Department, Torlak and his partners used strategies like renaming and reflagging oil tankers, covering vessel names with paints and blankets and turning off electronic tracking devices to hide vessel locations.

These actions allowed them to collect tens of millions of dollars from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil company.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, says Torlak “used deceit and trickery” to hide the origin of the oil.

Despite the oil sanctions imposed by the United States on PDVSA in 2019, these activities continued to operate unnoticed for some time.

The sanctions on PDVSA were tightened in June after the Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolas Maduro, failed to engage in negotiations with the political opposition or ensure fair elections, per the U.S. government.

PDVSA began delivering oil to Cuba using tankers that navigated without radar signals, as per reports from June. The sanctions also limit the operations and movement of tanker fleets owned by Venezuela and Cuba.

The Justice Department said that Torlak and others attempted to hide the beneficiaries of oil sales from U.S. officials and crucial commercial companies, further complicating the enforcement of these sanctions.

Torlak’s arrest in Miami signifies a continued crackdown on efforts to bypass restrictions that target the flow of Venezuelan oil to international markets.

He now faces serious legal challenges as investigators dig deeper into the international conspiracy.

References: Reuters, Bloomberg

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