The son-in-law of a prominent Venezuelan opposition leader was sentenced Tuesday to two and a half years in prison for his role in a vast conspiracy to siphon $1.2 billion from the state-owned oil company, some of which allegedly landed into accounts controlled by President Nicolás Maduro ’s stepsons.
Fernando Vuteff, 53, was arrested on a U.S. warrant in 2022 in Switzerland while on a visit to retrieve a valuable watch from a safe deposit box held at a bank in Zurich. The Argentine asset manager is the son-in-law of former Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a fierce Maduro opponent. He was charged in Miami federal court with laundering bribes and illicit proceeds from a fake foreign currency exchange scheme involving senior Venezuelan officials.
