Two arrested in Spain money laundering probe linked to Venezuelan government

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish police have arrested two people and raided several homes in Madrid as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering linked to the Venezuelan government, Spain’s High Court said on Friday.

The operation was carried out at the request of investigating judge Joaquin Gadea as part of a probe he is conducting in cooperation with authorities in Portugal and the United States, according to the court.

The court said it was investigating suspects linked to the Venezuelan government for alleged crimes of money laundering, international bribery and criminal association.

The names of those detained on Friday will not be disclosed because the case is being kept secret, it added.

Police carried out four searches, including homes in the capital’s upmarket Salamanca district and the exclusive La Finca area on the outskirts of Madrid.

The investigation is focused on the family of Venezuelan tycoon Roberto Rincon, newspaper El Confidencial reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Rincon was charged in the U.S. with conspiracy and paying bribes to officials at Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston, Texas, for his role in a business scheme involving large bribes in exchange for energy contracts from PDVSA.

Venezuela’s attorney general Tarek Saab said on social media later on Friday that his office is conducting investigations into Roberto Rincon, Jose Rincon, Ricardo Rincon and Alexandra Rincon for bribery, among other alleged crimes.

There are arrest warrants and extradition requests out for them, Saab said on X.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Corina Pons, additional reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Editing by David Latona and Devika Syamnath)