Former Venezuelan official pleads guilty to bribery and ML charges

ICE has announced a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen and former official at Citgo Petroleum Corporation, a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in laundering millions of dollars in bribes and corruptly providing business advantages to multiple individuals who obtained contracts with Citgo and PDVSA.

Jose Luis De Jongh Atencio, a former procurement officer and manager in Citgo’s Special Projects Group, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. As part of his plea, De Jongh also agreed to forfeit more than $3 million seized from his bank accounts and 15 properties that he purchased with his corrupt proceeds.