The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged ten defendants, arresting one, for allegedly conspiring to violate sanctions against Venezuela’s PDVSA by obtaining US aircraft parts, including Honeywell Aerospace Turbofan engines, to service PDVSA’s aircraft fleet in Venezuela.
The charged individuals allegedly developed a scheme to illegally procure aircraft parts after US sanctions were imposed on PDVSA in January 2019, in violation of US sanctions and export controls. Costa Rican company Novax Group SA and Spanish company Aerofalcon SL were allegedly used as third parties to smuggle the parts to PDVSA.
The indictment involves four individuals from PDVSA, four from Novax Group, and two from Aerofalcon, all involved in the alleged smuggling of aircraft parts and violating export restrictions. PDVSA acquired various aircraft parts, including tyres, and exchanged engines via Novax and Aerofalcon to evade detection.
PDVSA’s fleet includes eight aircraft, such as Falcon 2000EX/EASY/LX, Falcon 50s, and Falcon 900s, with Honeywell Aeroespace’s TFE731 engines.
