Argentina Approves Extradition of PDVSA Exec to Andorra for $5M Laundering
Supreme Court rejects final appeal of Luis Bastidas Ramírez, accused of laundering Venezuelan oil corruption funds through BPA bank; political.
Key Points
- Court dismissed appeal Thursday, rejecting unclear crime descriptions and statute arguments.
- Bastidas, Venezuelan, arrested in Argentina 2018; funds allegedly from PDVSA bribes via BPA.
- Request from Andorra probes into Chavista corruption; prior rulings flipped on appeal.
- Political approval required; mixed reactions on timing and asset forfeiture motives.
Argentina's Supreme Court has approved the extradition to Andorra of Luis Abraham Bastidas Ramírez, a former senior PDVSA executive accused of laundering $5 million through accounts at Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA).
The court dismissed his final appeal on Thursday, rejecting arguments over unclear descriptions of the crimes and statute of limitations. Andorran authorities now require political approval in Argentina before the transfer can take place.
Bastidas Ramírez, a Venezuelan national, arrived in Argentina around 2015 and was arrested in Córdoba in 2018 by Federal Police. He and his wife ran a newsstand, while she also operated a hair salon. A local federal court initially rejected Andorra's request but ruled it admissible in 2021 for ongoing major money laundering linked to corruption. Prosecutors upheld that on appeal, reversing a 2020 Supreme Court denial due to formal issues in the original petition.
Andorran investigators allege the funds stemmed from bribes paid to PDVSA executives, including Bastidas Ramírez, who acted as intermediaries to award inflated contracts to select firms. Those proceeds, totalling $5 million in his case, flowed through BPA accounts amid broader probes into Chavista officials using the bank to clean corruption money.
The extradition request originated from investigations led by then-judge Canòlic Mingorance, now a judge at Andorra's Court of Corts and the European Court of Human Rights. She pursued multiple detentions and handovers worldwide, especially in Latin America, to support cases against BPA.
The ruling has prompted varied responses in Argentina. Some view the long-delayed pursuit as surprising and question its purpose, suggesting it may aim to secure asset forfeitures in Andorra. Others argue such cases should proceed more discreetly. Similar actions targeted other Venezuelans, such as a woman extradited from Almería for allegedly laundering $400,000 via BPA; she received a three-month suspended sentence.
Political authorities in Argentina will now decide on the handover.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: