Turkish national arrested in Miami for alleged scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil
MIAMI - A Turkish national was arrested in Miami for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to bypass U.S. sanctions in an effort to transport Venezuelan oil for Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas corporation.
Taskin Torlak, 37, arrested Saturday, November 2, faces charges of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and attempting to return to Turkey at the time of his arrest.
The charges come as the Justice Department intensifies its efforts to enforce U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, which were imposed to deter the Maduro regime from depleting the nation's resources.
According to the Justice Department, Torlak conspired with other individuals to mask the origin of the Venezuelan oil and facilitate payments through U.S. financial institutions, with the ultimate goal of benefiting PdVSA.
"As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela," stated Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen from the Justice Department's National Security Division. "The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime."
The alleged scheme involved complex tactics, including falsifying the identities of oil tankers by renaming and reflagging vessels, obscuring ship names, and disabling tracking systems to evade detection by U.S. authorities and commercial maritime organizations.
Torlak and his co-conspirators reportedly used this approach to hide the origins of the oil and received tens of millions of dollars in payment from PdVSA, which is listed as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since 2019.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia emphasized the commitment to enforcing sanctions, stating, "This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela... We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted."
Court documents reveal that Torlak and his associates actively discussed the need to conceal their actions from U.S. authorities, including OFAC, as well as maritime entities. The defendants allegedly concealed the identities of transaction beneficiaries to enable U.S. banks to unknowingly process payments related to the illegal oil transports.
Torlak's arrest highlights an ongoing crackdown by U.S. officials on global networks attempting to breach sanctions designed to hinder the Venezuelan government's control over critical resources.
The investigation remains active as authorities work to identify additional participants in the alleged conspiracy.