Turkish National Arrested for Allegedly Conspiring to Violate Venezuela-Related Sanctions

WASHINGTON - Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, Florida, on November 2, 2024, for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. ("PdVSA"), Venezuela's state-owned oil and natural gas company.

The arrest and charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon, with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.

Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA"). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") designated as a Specially Designated National ("SDN") in January 2019.

"This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela," said U.S. Attorney Graves. "Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation's resources, while it unlawfully remains in power. We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted."

"As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen. "The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime."

According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels' locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigation's Washington D.C. Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.