Tareck El Aissami, the former oil minister of Venezuela, has been arrested on charges of money laundering, criminal association, and treason. He resigned unexpectedly last year as prosecutors were investigating corruption within the state-run oil industry. El Aissami’s arrest is part of an alleged scheme that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers. Images of him being handcuffed and escorted by officers have been released by the Ministry of Communications.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab stated that El Aissami will be appearing in court to face the charges. He did not provide information on when the arrest took place. El Aissami’s resignation came just days before several other senior officials in President Nicolás Maduro’s government were arrested in connection to the corruption investigation. The former oil minister had disappeared from public life after the arrests, raising questions about his whereabouts.
Saab explained that El Aissami’s arrest took time due to the various steps of the investigation. He linked the former minister to a scheme involving the sale of Venezuelan oil through the country’s cryptocurrency oversight agency in addition to the state-run oil company. This violated legal regulations, as payments were not made to the state oil company once the oil was marketed. El Aissami, who was once considered a key figure in circumventing international economic sanctions, stated during his resignation that he fully supported the ongoing investigations.
The United States had designated El Aissami a narcotics kingpin in 2017, in connection to his activities while serving as interior minister and governor. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Venezuela, despite having the world’s largest petroleum reserves. Officials are rarely held accountable for their actions, which has led to public frustration. The arrest of El Aissami, along with other senior government officials, is a rare instance of holding individuals responsible for their alleged involvement in corruption.
